FF8 - The Saviours
by Astarte
Summary: They made a mistake during the First Sorceress War, and now two years after the end of the Second, that mistake may destroy everyone.
1. Default Chapter Title

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FF8: The Saviours - Part One

by Astarte

Fierce winds drove the sea down into the depths, floods of water rushing downward where the sea had never been before. The winds faded then stopped but the sea had already invaded. The rock walls and pillars, contaminated by the foreign material, began to erode, gradually losing the glow that had once been strong enough to light up the cavern. One by one, glowing crystals crumbled away.

That silence was abruptly shattered by the retort of exploding rock. In the darkness, a giant block of crystal crumbled into dust, freeing the being that had been trapped inside. The young woman slowly stirred, groggy from her long sleep. At first her thoughts were dulled and she wasn't sure where she was or even her own name. After a few moments, her memories returned to her. Her designation was Chimera 13. She had been placed here by her enemies, imprisoned in crystal. She vaguely remembered the battle that she had ultimately lost.

Chimera lay there, covered in crystalline dust, not moving. How long had she slept, imprisoned in this place? She listened but could hear nothing except the sounds of water dripping down from the rocks above. Her enemies were gone. She could no longer even sense the presence of the entity that had once lived here. Only the distant called of wild animals were there.

Standing up, Chimera let the dust fall off. Carefully she fingered some of it, half expecting to feel the numbing sensation that had imprisoned her here. Nothing. Apparently the substance had degraded. Chimera smiled in satisfaction. An unforeseen chemical reaction, perhaps? They must have been confident in its ability to keep her trapped indefinitely. Strategic miscalculation: they should have terminated her when they had the opportunity.

Her own inexperience had caused her to act hastily and without any strategic planning. As a result, she had been soundly defeated. Now, it seemed her enemies had made exactly the same error. Learn from your mistakes, was the first rule she had ever been taught. The second was to learn from your enemy's mistakes. She would do this and more. Chimera fully intended to take every advantage of their error in judgement.

Looking around in the dank darkness, she tried to gather as much intelligence as possible. To the right, she could see the huge skeletal remains of some incredible beast. Close examination showed her what had happened to the entity that had lived here. The remains could belong to no other but Ultima Weapon. Someone had killed it, some time ago. She knew no normal beast could have killed such a powerful being, only man could have done so. Had someone come down here looking for her only to be confronted by Ultima Weapon? Its passing saddened her. She had always admired the being, even felt oddly attracted to it in a strange way. Its pride, dignity, fierce passion was a continual source of inspiration to her. She did not feel anger towards its killers, however, circumstances would have dictated that kill it herself.

Looking around she saw that the place had been abandoned for a significant amount of time. The machinery here was in a terrible state of disrepair. It looked as though the equipment hadn't been maintenanced in a very long time. Perhaps she had killed more of them than she had thought. Valuable equipment had been left behind to decay as though an emergency evacuation order had sounded. Frowning, Chimera scolded herself. The enemy had been in a state of panic and she had not taken any advantage of their disarray. Foolish haste and damnable inexperience.

Quietly she headed up the stairs. As she had expected, the local animals did not appreciate her presence. She was first attacked by a hungry looking ruby dragon and though she empathized with it, she had no desire to be its dinner. She was able to kill the ruby dragon before it was able to do much more than flame her ineffectually. Her fingertips sliced through the thick hide around the dragon's throat, severing a major artery and very nearly decapitating it. Further up the stairs she was attacked again, this time by a tri-face. The tri-face's attempt to poison her was admirable but futile. One well aimed fist crushed its central head's skull, sending splintered bone into its brain tissue. She leapt over its twitching carcass. Behind her she could hear scavengers bearing down on the dead bodies. At least something was going to get an easy meal.

The research centre itself was also abandoned. The entire project must have been moved elsewhere. Chimera tried to access information on the computers but the only functioning program was the steam control, everything else had been permanently wiped. This area must have been evacuated with far less haste. Equipment had been dismantled, files removed and data erased. All evidence of what had been going on here had been destroyed. They must have been far more frightened of her than she had realized. They were wise.

She decided to at least see the current date was. That was a revelation in itself and Chimera ran diagnostics to ensure the veracity of what she was seeing. Twenty years had passed! It was stunning. She could hardly conceive of how long she had been imprisoned. Did the Sorceress War still rage against Adel? What had happened during all this time?

She hastened her pace towards the uppermost levels of the research facility. Climbing through a vine-encrusted hole in the ceiling, she was confronted by another surprise: Bahamut was gone. The strange capsule which had imprisoned him was shattered and broken. It was also obvious that the capsule had been moved from its original location. It had been used to block the exit to the surface, a plug to keep her in. She was filled with conflicting emotion, joy that he was no longer imprisoned like some laboratory experiment and fury that he had most likely been reduced to being someone's GF. Mankind was so filled with hubris, that they would even dare consider themselves equal to such a noble being, much less his master. It was past now though.

Chimera stepped out into the sunlight for the first time in twenty years, reveling in the breeze that flowed through her hair. It smelled wonderful. She peeled off the filthy uniform that she wore, letting the warm sunlight caress her body. Freedom at last! No more confinement, no more tests, no more being ordered about. There was only azure sky, white clouds, and the deep blue sea.

She dove deep into the sea, thoroughly enjoying the native life around her. A school of silvery fish glimmered as they flitted back and forth in an elegant ballet. Jellyfish danced past her, trailing their long tendrils behind them. Diving even deeper, she was able to glimpse sleek torpedo shaped giants gliding through the water. Sharks, if she remembered correctly. She watched them for a long time, marveling in their grace and power. She studied them, these models of the consummate predator, as a student would watch a master. One even approached her, investigating this strange intruder into its domain. Satisfied that she was neither prey nor threat, it glided away. Far down below her, she could just barely sense dim shapes of such vastly huge proportions that it was almost beyond her comprehension. Strange songs, sung in such deep tones that her very bones seemed to vibrate, filled the water. Here, Chimera understood, were the masters of all the oceans. She felt honoured to have even caught a glimpse of them.

Exploding up to the surface, Chimera smiled softly at the beauty around her. There was so much to enjoy, so many lifeforms worthy of admiration. Sometimes her heart was so filled with love for this world that it threatened to burst. She knew that instinct had been artificially induced but she treasured it anyway. It was the only good thing that her enemies had ever done.

Turning around slightly she saw the underwater facility. Dark instincts started to resurface, to guide her thoughts. However much she wished to fight it, there was no escaping her own nature. Launching herself skyward, she willed a new uniform into existence. She then oriented herself. Galbadia must be her first destination, she knew that she could delay no longer. Twenty years had passed and she had a mission to fulfil.

*** *** ***

Zell had mixed feelings when Squall and Headmaster Cid presented him with the offer. Double his current paycheque and Special Forces status if he would transfer to the new Galbadia Garden. He understood exactly why Squall needed experienced SeeD in the new Garden. All of Galbadia had been politically unstable since the end of the War. No matter how bad Vinzer Deling had been, he had kept Galbadia together. Now, two years after his death, the country was still unstable and on the verge of civil war, Timber was still occupied, and the Galbadian military was beginning to fracture into two factions.

Half the army was loyal to General Richard Caraway, Rinoa's dad, and the other half was loyal to General Alexandros Typhon, a man known to have been Vinzer Deling's biggest ally. Headmaster Cid had made it very clear that Typhon was not an acceptable option for President. Frankly, Zell didn't blame him. Who the heck wanted someone who was in charge of Special Operations running an entire country. The new Garden was meant to act as a deterrent to civil war, a looming reminder of SeeD's military strength. It wouldn't be a deterrent, however, if it was populated with students. Galbadia Garden had to be filled with veteran soldiers or Typhon would simply ignore them.

He knew how tough this situation was on some of the people here, SeeD or not. Poor Rinoa was beside herself with worry. She might never have gotten along with her dad but she didn't hate him either. The crisis was developing to the point where Caraway would either have to win, die, or live the rest of his life in hiding. The current president was so weak that he had absolutely no control over the country at all. Right now, Caraway and Typhon were waged in a tug of war for power while President Maraj cowered in the Presidential Palace.

Under any other circumstance, Zell would have grabbed the promotion eagerly but that meant being separated from his long-time girlfriend, Iris. That was not an idea that held much appeal, he could barely survive a day without seeing her so indefinite separation was out of the question. There was no way that he was abandoning his girl just because a better job had come along.

Zell was about to refuse when Squall got one of those introspective looks he was so famous for, the strain of the past few months beginning to show on his face. Zell didn't envy Squall his position. His friend hadn't wanted to be placed in charge of things during the war against Ultimecia and here he was two years later, still the Commander-in-Chief of all active SeeDs. Zell suspected that Headmaster Cid had been eager to get rid of the burden and simply "forgot" to demote Squall. Sometimes Zell thought that his friend spent too much time thinking and occasionally drove himself crazy, trying to live up to his responsibilities. That was why Zell decided to wait until Squall spoke, it sometimes took him a while to come out and say something.

"Iris is an explosives expert." Squall said finally, the faintest expression of satisfaction on his face, apparently coming to a decision. "She's also a certified instructor. She would be valuable there, too." He looked at Cid, tacitly requesting his approval. As headmaster, it was Cid who was in charge of instructors.

"Martine will absolutely need every good instructor he can get his hands on," Cid responded smiling knowingly. Everyone knew how Zell felt about his pigtailed princess, Iris Deen. "I don't see him turning away an instructor that's being dropped into his lap."

Zell couldn't believe his luck. If Iris was willing to go, and he was positive that she would, everything would be perfect. A pay raise, a promotion and a tour of duty at a fancy new Garden, with his girlfriend, no less, all at the same time. Life couldn't get any better than this.

Unable to resist any longer, Zell eagerly accepted the position. He warned them that he wouldn't go if Iris didn't but they all knew that there was no way in the world that she would refuse. Iris had always wanted to be an instructor. She had always admired Quistis and never stopped talking about how much she wanted to teach. Both her parents had been teachers and she was eager to carry on the family tradition, even if it was in a military academy and not a university like her parents. Besides, no one blew things up with quite the same style as his Iris.

A very pleased Cid told him that his new assignment would start next week and that he would have to go and get ready. Squall was already on the intercom, paging Iris. Zell was virtually hopping with excitement, anxious to tell someone of his good fortune but desperate to hear for himself that Iris was going.

It wasn't long before Iris appeared. She squealed with near-Selphie delight at the offer, especially after learning that Zell had accepted already. It was kind of funny actually, that such a bubbly and enthusiastic girl like Iris could become so cool and businesslike when it came to explosives. Actually, now that he thought about it, if she were bubbly and enthusiastic all the time, she'd probably blow herself up. Squall ordered Nida to head for the new Garden and Iris virtually ran from the office, eager to pack up and spread the word.

Zell felt exactly the same way. He couldn't get out of the elevator fast enough, hoping to find someone, anyone, to tell about his good luck. Not looking where he was going, Zell crashed headlong into a disheveled looking Irvine. Grinning apologetically, Zell helped the tall Galbadian to his feet. He couldn't help but notice that Irvine had seen better days.

"Have you ever tried flying the Ragnorok through a Force 5 hurricane with winds hitting over 250 miles an hour?" Irvine asked in some disgust after Zell asked him what happened. Zell had to shake his head but from looking at Irvine, he suspected that his friend had. Not exactly sure how someone ended up flying through a hurricane, he asked why.

Irvine rolled his eyes and made an annoyed sound. "Selphie and I helped Matron evacuate the new orphanage on Centra. We got hit by the ugliest storm I've ever seen in my life. Twice." Irvine grew more irritated as he began to describe the events. "Selphie decided it might be fun to pass through the storm on our way there." Irvine grimaced at Selphie's apparent insanity. "So not only did she have to make this huge detour to do it, we got wholloped by this bastard of a storm, and then we lost so much time that the hurricane caught up to us while we were evacuating." Irvine shook his head incredulously. "Damn storm moved so fast I couldn't believe it."

Zell laughed then caught himself when he received a nasty glare from Irvine. Still, it was exactly the kind of thing that Selphie would do. Sometimes, she was fearless to the point of idiocy. "Did everyone get out okay?" he asked, still smiling.

Irvine sighed in resignation and allowed a faint smile to creep onto his face as well. "Oh yeah, everyone was fine. A little shaken up but no one was hurt." He shook his head once more, still unable to believe the experience. "About the only thing that would have suffered would have been that old abandoned platform out in the south west."

Zell looked at him, a little confused until he realized what Irvine was talking about. The abandoned research facility where they'd found Bahamut and Eden. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

Irvine shrugged. "That hurricane came from that direction. Even if it didn't hit it dead on, the storm was huge and those winds were real wicked. The Ragnorok barely made it through, what would have happened to that decades old wreck?" Irvine grinned. "I'm not sorry to see it go. Miserable place."

Zell agreed, laughing. They'd fought so many monsters in there, it had seemed as though each step attracted more and more dragons, tri-faces and other ugly predators. After all that, half dead and exhausted, they were attacked by Ultima Weapon, which very nearly killed them. No, he didn't particularly miss that place either.

Irvine grinned, pushing back the cowboy hat that he habitually wore. "So what was so important you had to knock me halfway back to Centra?" he asked with an amused expression on his face.

Zell puffed up with pride and thrust a thumb towards his chest. "I'm getting promoted to Galbadia Garden," he said, making playful jabs at the air. Enthusiastically he explained the promotion and the reasons for it, forgetting completely that Irvine also knew what was going on, he especially forgot that Irvine was a Galbadian. Abruptly, Zell remembered and began to feel terrible. How would he feel if Balamb began to fall apart and was on the verge of civil war? Zell sagged visibly. Two years after he had blown his team's cover with his big mouth and he still hadn't learned a thing.

Irvine shook his head sternly and wagged his finger at Zell. "Don't be stupid, Zell, you know I'm happy for you. You've got every right to be proud.." He gave Zell a friendly thump on the back. "Galbadia's military is very powerful, a civil war would get real nasty now that the army is getting ready to declare war on itself. Someone has to prevent that. I don't think I could be there, so you have to do it." Irvine sighed regretfully. Zell knew he was thinking back to that carousel clock on the Presidential Palace when he'd cracked under the pressure. Irvine had been the only one to remember who Edea was, he'd known exactly who he was supposed to kill. Zell didn't think he could have shot her either, had he remembered who she was. He gave Irvine an energetic grin to reassure him.

"Don't you worry, Irv, I won't let you down."

*** *** ***

Chimera arrived, landing some distance from Deling city. Unsure of how much technology had changed over the past two decades, she did not want to risk detection. Her first priority was information. She had learned from her previous mistake and would not repeat it. Haste was her enemy. Recalling the old maps she had been trained with, she knew that Deling City had a large information store. Unfortunately the maps she had memorized were all twenty years out of date. She doubted, however, that a large facility like Deling's Central Library would be moved. It was statistically unlikely.

She entered the city with deliberate casualness, the best disguise being the confidence that you belong there. She was mildly concerned that her multi-coloured hair might attract attention but she was soon reassured. As she walked towards the center of the city, she noticed several young people sporting unusual hair colours, apparently her coloration was current fashion. In fact, one or two individuals complimented her.

Walking towards the center of the city, she noticed how tense everyone was. Stopping at a newspaper stand, she picked up a news magazine, memorizing all the text as she quickly flipped through the pages. Apparently she had awakened at a very opportune time. Galbadia was on the verge of fracturing, civil war was imminent, and a familiar name was trying to wrest control of the government. General Typhon, head of the Special Operations Division. She was unsure of the priority she should give him. She decided that he was a low priority at the moment since he did not pose an immediate threat to her mission. She left when the newspaper seller started glaring at her. 

She briefly stopped to admire the huge stone archway that marked the Presidential Palace, it was absolutely beautiful. Looking around she noticed some couples some kissing, others holding hands, some simply enjoying each others company. She wondered what it was like to be in love. It was something that she understood only intellectually, having never experienced it. Yet another crime the enemy had committed against her. She wasn't any older that some of the young people who were kissing, yet she had been denied the opportunity.

She finally reached the library and walked up the steps. She noticed large statues of Vinzer Deling gracing either side of the large doors. This, she decided, did not bode well for the value of the information inside. Dictators tended towards this kind of tacky display, they also tended towards heavy censorship. She went inside anyway. Perhaps she could find at least a little information from this place. She spend nearly half an hour, scanning books, magazines and newspaper articles. She quickly discovered that while certain events were accurate, such as the war against Adel ending, the details were highly suspect. Vinzer Deling, according to all official reports, was personally involved in all sorts of heroic acts and had been personally responsible for saving the world from Sorceress Adel.

One item she learned about was very interesting. It was a new organization called SeeD. It appeared to be a military group founded on mercenary principles, based at military academies referred to as Gardens. Any government with sufficient funds could hire SeeD to fight for them. It was a logical and highly practical concept, one that Chimera actually admired. As with everything else however, most of the information on SeeD and their Gardens was suspect. Recent articles mentioned that a new Garden had just been constructed nearby. It was apparently state-of-the-art. This she decided, was a place that warranted further investigation.

Looking around she saw a computer terminal and immediately took advantage of the equipment. She was quite surprised to find that despite dramatic improvements in hardware, the software had not advanced very far. In fact, the software that had been used in the research center twenty years ago was more advanced than what was being used here. First she located an electronic atlas and memorized all the maps it contained. Next she needed to access government records. It only took her a few minutes to bypass the security measures and gain access to the network at large. She tapped into the government computers looking for a specific group of names and addresses. Of all the enemy, these were the most dangerous, they posed the greatest risk to her mission. As soon as she retrieved all the information she needed she shut down the computer and left. The first address was located not far from her current location.

The house was large and obviously belonged to someone of affluence. Keeping to the shadows, Chimera moved quietly to the side of the house and making certain that she could not be seen, phased through the wall. The house was as luxurious inside as it was outside, she noted. Life seemed to have been very kind to the master of this house. Every piece of furniture was a handcrafted original and some of the art on the wall were originals from famous artists. She even saw the incredibly rare, highly sought after, Griever Triple Triad card, the only perfect high card in existence, locked behind a case. She let her thoughts wander, trying to sense a presence. She detected only one person, which fit with what she remembered of him. He was upstairs, directly above her current position. She floated upward and phased through the ceiling into the room above.

It was a private laboratory. It was filled with the most modern high tech equipment that Chimera had ever seen, some of which she could not even identify. She did, however, recognize one device. It looked very much like a maturation chamber, except that this one was much smaller than the ones she remembered. Even after all this time, he still tried to play god. Off to one side, she could see another room separated from this one by a huge double-sealed glass door. Inside it was all the equipment one would associate with a coroner's autopsy room. It was the autopsy table that disturbed her most, however. A coroner did not normally require restraints for his subjects. Beside, the table was a large acetylene blowtorch. She barely restrained a shudder of disgust. The object of her contempt was bent over a piece of equipment, examining it with such intensity that he hadn't noticed her presence.

"Doctor Aman Adrick," she said calmly.

Startled the man whirled around. He had not aged well, a wrinkled old man, withered by his own corruption. He was so skinny that he seemed almost skeletal, his long gray hair was scraggly and his skin had the yellow tint that signaled advanced liver disease. His expression was one of shock at first then he smirked, a particularly unpleasant expression. He didn't seem that surprised to see a young woman floating a foot off his laboratory floor.

"Ah, Thirteen," he said with an emotionless voice that had always irritated her. "I knew that those idiots in the military were making a mistake letting you live." He seemed completely unconcerned by her presence. He sat down on a stool and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, jamming one into his mouth. He leaned towards a lit burner to light it then simply sat there, regarding her as a scientist would regard any new and interesting specimen. "I assume that you're going to kill me now since I know so very much about you. It is the only intelligent thing to do," he leaned towards her, his expression cool and passionless. "Do not disappoint me, Thirteen."

She regarded him with utter contempt. "That is my intention." She knew she should kill him immediately but the thought of even getting close to this man was repellant. Her skin crawled at the mere thought of physical contact. Even the others of the enemy had kept far away from this man, certainly they had tried to keep him away from her. He had made a sport out of indulging in every imaginable depravity. "I first require the Chimera Project data."

Aman Adrick laughed, long and hard, actually wiping a tear from his eyes. Chuckling, he wagged a finger at her. She did not like being laughed at. "Yes, of course, I'm sure you do. You cannot use your powers without the activation formula, can you?" He took a long drag from his cigarette and drank something out of a beaker that sat on the table next to him. It smelled like alcohol, probably the source of his liver disease. He had been alcoholic back then too. "Can't help you though, as far as I know the data's gone for good. I do not remember anything useful anymore. Time and alcohol have that effect on the memory, you know."

This was frustrating news. She needed to fully activate her natural abilities in order to accomplish her mission and the formula was the only means of doing it. If only she had been more patient back then, this would not be necessary. The enemy had intentionally inhibited her powers but they had intended to activate them once they felt safe in her presence. His amused laughter made it even more frustrating. He knew that she had made a severe error in judgement and was enjoying every minute of her failure.

She allowed an angry snarl to escape her lips. He was everything that she hated in humanity, he had given her a murderous instinct and then made her a slave to it, she hated him with a passion that was beyond her ability to comprehend. She unsheathed her talons. She had wasted enough time on this human garbage and there were other members of the Chimera Project that needed to be eliminated. She would take no pleasure in their deaths but his, that was a different matter.

"You are of no use to me." His head went flying across the room as her talons severed his head with surgical precision. Even as the headless torso dropped to the floor like a wet sack, she noted that the cigarette was still in his mouth. Smoking, she thought to herself, was a very unhealthy habit.

*** *** ***

There had been a huge going away party for Zell and Iris. Selphie had gone all out organizing it with food, drinks and entertainment. Even though everyone was happy for Zell and Iris, there were more than a few sad faces. Zell could have sworn that he was on his way to be executed but he was slightly damp around the eyes himself. Even if it was only for one year, he was still going to miss the whole lot of them.

When it was time to leave, everyone came out to see them off. The sight of all her friends made Iris burst into tears and then so did Selphie and Rinoa. The three clung to each other as though they were never going to see one another again. Quistis satisfied herself with a simple goodbye hug for the both of them. Irvine just grinned, gave Zell a friendly wallop on the back, and flashed a particularly charming smile at Iris, which prompted Selphie to angrily punch him in the arm. Squall rolled his eyes, smiled and saluted.

"I'll miss you so much, Sefie, Rini, Quisti," Iris sniffled and waved goodbye. Then she wiggled her way into Zell's arms and smiled at him. "Let's go before I chain myself to the Garden." Zell nodded in agreement. He was about half ready to do the same himself.

So they left the Garden that had been home for so long and watched as it sailed away over the sea. With a deep sigh, Zell and Iris entered Galbadia Garden. They were actually rather impressed by the new school. Zell couldn't get over how amazing the new Garden was. Everything about the place had to be described with words like huge, large and immense. Zell felt like a junior classman all over again, gawking at the overwhelming sights. Those techies from Fisherman's Horizon might be ultra annoying when it came to fighting but, Goddess, could they ever build. 

They quickly found a staff member who directed them to Martine's office.. Their meeting with Martine went smoothly. The man looked much better than the last time they'd seen him, sitting forlornly at Fisherman's Horizon. Back then he'd been broken by the loss of his Garden but its rebirth seemed to have had a similar effect on him. He was cheerful as he greeted them and seemed especially pleased to have a Demolitions Instructor in his grasp. After a brief orientation he handed them their living quarters. He also gave them a week off to let them get aquainted with the layout of the new Galbadia.

"You'll need it," Martine said with a smile. "I still get lost in here."

After their meeting ended, they located the central directory to find their living quarters. They found Zell's first. Zell casually threw his stuff into his room then they went to settle Iris into her new place. Like everything else in the new Galbadia Garden, the private rooms for SeeD members were much larger than the ones in Balamb. Helping her unpack, Zell couldn't help but mention with more than a touch of mischief, how nice and big the beds were. Iris blushed furiously, looking very cute in Zell's opinion. She gave him a swat on the arm and chased him out of the room. Still rosy, Iris told him to look around while she got settled in.

Laughing, Zell decided to do just that. As he looked around, he decided that this might not be such a bad place after all. The first place he decided to check out was the cafeteria. Food was always a good place to start out. When he walked in, he felt almost like a pilgrim reaching a holy place. The cafeteria was more than twice the size of Balamb Garden's. Odors wafting around his head set his mouth to watering and the menu listed on the boards sent him into ecstasy. From snack foods, sandwiches and soups to hot meals ranging from vegetarian to seafood to pasta, the variety was phenomenal. Then he saw them: Hot dogs, armloads of hot dogs, chilidogs, cheddar dogs, kraut wieners, sausages of every kind. Zell wanted to swoon. He had arrived in Nirvana.

Forcibly tearing himself away from the siren call of the food, he investigated the rest of the Garden. There was a gorgeous amphitheater and a huge concert hall that Selphie would have killed to get her hands on. She could organize concerts to her heart's content in a place like this. Even the training center at the new Garden was bigger and included a non combat section fully equipped with the most modern training equipment. There was a lovely garden area accented by a pretty fountain carved in the shape of Hyne, just perfect for relaxing with your significant other.

Of all the sights in this new Garden, oddly enough, it was the library that was the truly awe inspiring sight. It was huge. Balamb Garden's library had never been that big but this one was truly immense, bigger even than the Garden's cafeteria. Rinoa would love this place, Zell thought, she loved books. There were sections on every conceivable subject that Zell could imagine.

Walking into the history section, Zell noticed a girl taking book after book off the shelves and leafing through them. Most of the books went back onto the shelves but some of them were added to a growing pile. She noticed his presence and turned to face him. He felt as though the air had been knocked out of his lungs.

Zell had always believed that his Iris was the most beautiful girl in the world but the young woman who stood before him looked like a goddess. She was tall, almost as tall as Irvine, with rainbow hair that was nearly waist long. She had pale creamy skin that stood out against her pewter body suit and a build that other women would die to possess. It was her eyes that were the most captivating. They were a jade green that he'd never thought possible in a human being.

He tried to open his mouth to say hello but all he managed were croaking sounds. He felt pangs of guilt for reacting like this the first moment Iris' back was turned but there was something about this girl that was totally arresting. His heart threatened to jump clear out of his ribcage and he was positive that he had forgotten how to breathe. The mysterious young woman stared at him, her eyes completely emotionless. Well, he thought with embarrassment, she's not impressed, is she?

He cleared his throat and tried again. "Umm, Hi there," He tried a friendly smile and stuck out his hand. "My name's Zell Dincht."

The young woman simply stared at his pro-offered hand rather coldly then made a slight shrugging motion. She turned towards the books and continued browsing through the subjects as though he wasn't there. She grabbed book after book, rapidly leafing through each.

Great, Zell though sourly, I come all this way just to meet someone who makes the old Squall look warm and friendly. He noticed however that she had a pile of books at her feet. Did she have a big project? He remembered how miserable he'd always gotten when he'd had a big assignment for class. Perhaps she wasn't doing that great in history. Well, he was a great history buff.

"You have a big history assignment? That's my favorite subject." He offered tentatively. He didn't know why he was trying to be so helpful but he just hated not being liked. Besides, she was so darned pretty.

She looked at him, those magnificent jade eyes examining him rather calculatingly. "I require historic information," she said in a slightly less than subzero voice. She waved one elegant hand towards the shelves of books. "This facility exceeds that of Deling City's library."

Deling Central Library was crummy. Dictatorship had a tendency to do that to any worthwhile center of learning or culture. Now he was positive that he was right. She was working on a paper for history and probably not doing well. Idly, he wondered why she had even gone to the Deling Central Library when this place existed right on the premises. However, not one to pass up being a noble hero, he puffed himself up slightly and asked her what exactly her project was on.

She gave him a long, considering look. Zell thought that it was kind of unnerving that she could go so long without blinking. "I require information on the past two decades, especially significant socio-political changes," she said finally. After another of those odd long looks, she said, "You may call me Kim." Her expression didn't get any friendlier. Zell was glad that he'd gotten used to Squall's mannerisms over the last two years. Kim's frigid demeanor would have driven him nuts otherwise. Cool and all business, she was definitely Squall's female counterpart. He was sure he'd get a warmer response from his computer terminal.

Zell rifled through Kim's selection. She had chosen excellent books, especially the ones dealing with the first Sorceress war and the economic collapse of Dollet a decade ago. He scanned through the books on the shelf and pulled out two others. He also chose a little book about Timber. It was kind of partisan but gave a good summary of the occupation by Galbadia.

"Most of the details of the second Sorceress War are still classified but there are lots of magazines, newsletters and articles that will give you a good idea of what happened," Zell told Kim enthusiastically, warming up to the subject. He pointed at one of the books on the shelf. "Avoid this one like the plague. Its so biased against SeeD its nauseating. I don't even know why its in here." Zell frowned in irritation. The book had been written by Deling supporters and was pretty much a fantasized version of events. It implied that Vinzer Deling had been the hero of the war and that Galbadia had stood alone against the "forces of darkness", which was how the book consistently referred to SeeD. It made vague allegations of collusion between Esthar and SeeD to overthrow the world governments. Zell was really furious when they accused Edea of creating the crisis so that Esthar and SeeD could put their "nefarious" plan into action.

Putting his additions onto her pile he noticed that she also had selections on medicine, magic, biology, chemistry, genetic engineering, aerodynamics, quantum physics, GF N-dimensional metabiochemistry, and computer technology. Zell was impressed by the sheer volume of subjects. This Kim was an extremely bright girl. He didn't think even Quistis knew all this stuff. He certainly didn't understand half of it. He wasn't even sure what N-dimensional metabiochemistry was.

Somewhat awed by her reading material, Zell took a moment to recover. "Wow, you really like reading, don't you?" He smiled up at her, determined to be friendly. It just bugged the heck out of him when he couldn't make friends with someone.

She smiled at him, the first one he had ever seen on her. The effect was rather predatory and he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. He felt like a rabbit trapped with a hungry T-Rexaur. It wasn't a sensation he enjoyed very much. Deep inside his rabbit instincts screamed at him to run. He held his ground against the stupid, irrational reaction. What could this girl do to him, anyway?

"Knowledge is power, Zell Dincht." With that she effortlessly picked up her huge pile of books and walked away. Zell was glad to see her go. He couldn't wait to get out of there.

Zell hurried back to Iris' quarters, still feeling spooked for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. He stopped and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to regain his center. He didn't want to worry Iris unnecessarily. He especially didn't want to mention Kim, just in case she misunderstood his nervousness. No matter how pretty that Kim was, Iris was still his one and only. Rabbit and T-Rexaur relationships never lasted very long.

*** *** ***


	2. Default Chapter Title

****

FF8: The Saviours - Part Two

by Astarte

Alexandros Typhon scanned the reports his agents had intercepted. He grew increasingly angry as he read name after name on the police reports. Homicide, report after report, it was the same word repeated with aggravating consistency. Nineteen murders in one night. These people had been under surveillance for decades, standard ops for high level government scientists, their every move carefully watched. Despite all those watchful eyes, a team of assassins had somehow managed infiltrate the scientists' homes, kill them and leave without a single agent noticing. The only one still alive was Ceta Echid and that only because she was away on vacation. What kind of morons was this department recruiting anyway, He wondered in disbelief. His people were going to hear about this. Heads were going to fly.

Interestingly enough, decapitation had been the assassins' preferred technique and his people were still trying to identify the weapon that had been used. It had apparently not been a blade, they seemed to think that something like a metal claw had been used. Typhon shook his head disparagingly. Messy, very messy. Typhon wasn't fond of messy, it just didn't seem professional. He'd always prided himself on his professionalism.

Looking at the pictures, he wondered who on earth might have contracted the assassinations. These people weren't currently working on anything contentious, in fact, most of them were retired or teaching now. Aman Adrick was about the only person who seemed worthy of a contracted hit, considering that his hobby involved unethical bioexperiments and outright torture. The only thing that they had in common was the twenty year old Chimera Project.

Could it have been Esthar? No. He'd seen reports on this Laguna Loire, he wasn't the kind of man who'd have the guts to have people killed. He was one of those touchy-feely compassionate types that had no business running a store much less a country. Odine? Maybe, perhaps he still held a grudge after all this time. Scientists were generally a peculiar bunch and he was cold enough to be capable of murder. Caraway? That was a distinct possibility, after all, he'd contracted with SeeD to have Edea assassinated. Typhon smiled. The only reason he'd never warned Vinzer about the contract was because he'd wanted her dead too. How about SeeD itself? Very unlikely. A SeeD wouldn't save his own mother unless he had a rock solid contract to do it. On the other hand, SeeD had changed over the past two years. They had developed a tendency to behave more like peace keepers than sensible mercenary soldiers. Still, peace keepers didn't assassinate middle aged scientists as a rule.

"Why would someone want these people dead after all this time?" he murmured to himself. If only he could find a motive, he could find the contractor. It was a mystery and he didn't like mysteries.

"Perhaps I may be of assistance," Someone said behind him.

Startled, Typhon spun his chair around, wondering how someone had gotten behind him. As soon as he saw the owner of the voice, everything fell into place. He couldn't believe that he'd forgotten about her. The possibility that she could escape had never occurred to him. He'd been worried about Galbadia before, now he was terrified.

She stood there, a creature of utter beauty, completely unchanged by the passage of time. He'd never seen her in person, only in photographs sent to him with project updates. He tried to remember back to the progress reports. Not only did she have incredible speed and strength, she also had amazing recuperative abilities. Echid had proudly stated that decapitation was the only sure way of killing her. Looking at the unearthly being in front of him, he sincerely doubted that anyone could get close enough to do it. The only saving grace of the entire situation was that most of her abilities were blocked. His decision to keep her preserved for future research seemed like a horrendously bad decision now.

Decapitation? He wondered if that was why she seemed to gravitate to that method when killing her enemies. It was either a symptom of a perverse sense of humour or an instinctive preference for something she knew was one hundred percent effective. She didn't seem like the type to have a particularly well developed sense of humour, much too serious and single minded.

"No, you don't need to explain," he responded smoothly. She had killed them because they knew too much, they might have knowledge that could be used against her. They had presented a threat to her mission. Given similar circumstances, any of his agents would have done the same thing.

"You realize that eventually we'll kill you," he said with false calm. "Without those special powers of yours its only a matter of time before we hunt you down. Not even you can withstand an entire army and a hail of bullets." Even if it didn't kill her outright, it would incapacitate her enough so that they could get in close enough to finish the job.

She didn't seem perturbed, however, she actually smiled. It was the confidence of the smile that made shivers of dread ripple up and down his spine. She wasn't worried, he realized. She knew something. Then he remembered. The Black Hole Archives. Oh Damn, he thought. The only surviving copy of the project had been kept there.

Each file was labeled with a massively encrypted code, not a project name. There were literally millions of encrypted index codes and they weren't stored on computer. Computers could be broken into and programs could be uploaded into them, they were handwritten into log books. No, without the master codes to tell her which volumes to look at and what cipher to use, she would have had to read thousands of books, decoding the encryption which varied for each code. It had only been three days since the murders.

Sensing that he understood, she smiled at him with an oddly compassionate expression on her face. "I have the data I require. I can complete my mission now."

Sheer frustration made Typhon yell at her in anger. Still with this triple cursed mission of hers! Twenty years later and she was still obsessed with it. "Mission? Can't you get it through your damn skull that you don't have a mission!" His fists were clenched as he hollered. Outside, security officers heard the commotion. They could both hear soldiers come running towards Typhon's office.

She regarded him sternly. "I can only do what I was made to do," she said in an accusing voice. "You have no-one but yourself to blame." She raised one elegant slightly elongated hand and unsheathed long ebony claws. They looked remarkably like a hawk's talons: long, curved and very sharp.

Typhon only had a few seconds to hear the door burst open as his people rushed in. Those few seconds seemed like an eternity however as he reflected on the enormity of his mistake. He had thought that he knew what he was doing. He'd always believed in Galbadia's inherent superiority, that nothing done in its name could be wrong. Science as god, he'd assumed that mankind's knowledge had made him equal to Hyne, that the old beliefs were ignorant and self-limiting. Now he knew he was wrong.

He was glad that he had given the agent trailing Ceta orders to break cover and warn her of the danger she was in. Despite the harsh words they'd exchanged since their marriage began to collapse, he was still fond of her. He hoped that she would be alright, he owed her that much.

The last thing that he saw was Chimera's arm move with lightning speed. And then there was nothing.

*** *** ***

Zell had been about sneak a kiss from Iris when he was startled by Marine's voice booming over the speakers, requesting that he and Iris come to his office. They both looked at each other then Iris got to her feet and tugged on Zell's sleeve.

"C'mon Zell," she said, trying to pull him up. "The boss wants to see us." She looked vaguely confused as she watched Zell scramble to his feet. "I wonder what he wants. We're not on duty yet."

Zell shrugged. "I have no idea." Now he gave her arm a playful tug. "Lets go before he sends a search party out to find us."

Still smiling, they both jogged to the nearest elevator to go up to Martine's office. All the while they speculated on what he could want. Iris jokingly worried that Martine might have realized what a terrible mistake he'd made and wanted to send them both back to Balamb. Zell personally thought that he just wanted to activate them earlier than anticipated. Probably some new assignment had come up.

When they reached Martine's office, they were rather surprised to see all the people there. Cid was there and so was Squall and the gang. Martine's assistant was tending to an older woman who looked to be in her fifties or so. Her hair was gray and neatly coiled at the back of her head in a professional manner. Her hands were shaking so badly that her teacup rattled on the saucer. Zell took a deep breath and glanced at Iris, who returned his worried look. This couldn't be good.

Martine noticed his entrance and beckoned him in with a grave expression on his face. Martine sighed and sat down. "Good, you're here." He glanced at the woman whom he identified as one Doctor Ceta Echid, a genetics professor at Galbadia University. "Doctor Echid came to me claiming that we face a serious threat."

Zell wondered if it had something to do with the rash of murders in Deling the past week. Twenty people had been killed, including General Typhon. The papers claimed that they had all been assassinated but Zell had to wonder how many assassins would decapitate their targets. There were plenty of far less disgusting ways to do that, it sounded more like the kind of thing a serial killer would do.

Ceta Echid carefully set the tea down and stood up. Taking a deep breath, she put her hands behind her back and started speaking. Zell almost smiled. Quistis had almost that exact same tone to her voice when she was lecturing someone. He wondered if all instructors had that same vaguely-bossy lecturing voice. She became so absorbed in the subject that she seemed to forget whatever it was that had upset her so much earlier

As he began to pay attention to what Ceta was saying, however, his smile faded. It had begun thirty years ago when Vinzer Deling had grown concerned over Esthar's increasing hostility. He had come up with the idea of creating super soldiers in an attempt to match Esthar's advanced military strength. Unfortunately, Galbadia's scientific knowledge wasn't up to the task and three years later, the project was on the verge of being shut down. It was precisely at that point that their luck changed for the better. A Galbadian Destroyer located an isolated Esthar research platform and captured it. They had been doing research on the newly discovered Guardian Forces and Galbadia now had access to technology and research that was far in advance of its own.

This surprised Zell. She had to mean the Deep Sea Research Facility but it had never occurred to him that it had been created by Esthar. Of course since Odine had discovered GFs perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising after all. He caught himself and started listening to Ceta once again.

Intensive study of the Esthar research and equipment suddenly made Vinzer Deling's dream a possibility and they had begun working on the project in earnest. They planned to create a brand new life form, a creature that would be more than human, they wanted to create a chimera.

"Ummm, why would you want to make one of those ugly things?" Rinoa asked in a confused voice. She wasn't really very fond of the big monsters, having spent ages fighting them on the Island Closest to Heaven. Zell had to agree, he didn't find them terribly attractive either.

Ceta laughed in amusement. "No, not that kind of chimera. It's a term we use in biotech when referring to an organism that contains a mixture of cells from different species, kind of the way a real chimera looks like several different monsters rolled into one."

"Oh," Rinoa said in a bewildered voice. "Biology. I hated biology class," she confessed ruefully. He face was scrunched up in an expression of distaste. Squall gave Rinoa a mock glare then impatiently waved for Ceta to continue.

The first twelve real attempts at creating a chimeric lifeform failed miserably, Ceta remarked clinically. Some failed because of flaws in the process, others failed because they didn't really understand the technology behind Odine's maturation chambers. The thirteenth attempt was a stunning success and the being, tagged as Chimera 13, seemed perfect in every way.

And yet, she had peculiarities that the research team never really understood. Matured from fertilized egg to adulthood in just under a year, they had expected to have to teach her to walk, speak and read. They were not expecting her to emerge from the maturation chamber with those abilities already developed to near-adult levels. They were impressed by her incredible ability to absorb information simply by scanning pages of information. Mathematically, she could work out solutions to complex problems as fast as their confiscated Esthar computers.

"Why would that be, do you think?" Martine prodded curiously.

Ceta considered it for a long time. "We always assumed it was the result of the blending of different species within her. She didn't seem to inherit human thought processes. Actually, it made her much more valuable than if she had. Mass production would be much more efficient this way."

Zell didn't like what he was hearing. This kind of research just didn't sit right with him, it felt wrong. Here they were creating custom designed people without any concern as to the ethics of it. Worse, Ceta Echid was talking about her creation as though she had built a designer car instead of a person. A person with value as a mass market commodity. That thought alone upset Zell, the idea of people as merchandise. There was a word for that.

"What species exactly?" Cid interrupted with an edge to his voice. Zell was relieve to realize he wasn't the only one disturbed by Ceta's casual admission. What really bothered him was that Ceta seemed perfectly comfortable with the idea of a race of slaves.

"She's a combination of human and Guardian Force; Bahamut, Eden and a few others," was Ceta's calm response. Human and GF?! Was she insane, wondered Zell incredulously. Ceta continued with her story, either ignoring or simply unaware of the dismay on her audience's faces. She went on to explain that they had chosen to use GF tissue in an attempt to artificially create a sorceress' ability. They had then adapted Odine's technology in order to temporarily inhibit the chimera's abilities.

The fatal flaw in Chimera 13 didn't appear until one Doctor Aman Adrick wrested control of the project from her, she said. Adrick was a sadist. He was an amoral man who had a fascination with pain and didn't see any problem with vivisecting animal, or human, test subjects. He had laughed at criticism, countering that the ends justified the means. Everyone there had hated him but he got results, which was all that the government cared about. Adrick had decided that the chimera's peculiarities warranted more intensive investigation. Ceta could not, or would not, elaborate any further but Zell wasn't really anxious to hear details anyway. Even Zell could see where this was headed.

"After about three days of his 'experimentation', I demanded that Typhon transfer her to my authority," Ceta muttered in a low voice. Her eyes were closed as though she was seeing the events in her mind's eye. "Her injuries had healed almost instantly and we gave her several days of recovery time." Ceta face had a mildly bewildered expression on it, as if it hadn't really occurred to her that her creation might have been suffering psychological trauma. "We didn't see any behavioral changes." No, Zell thought cynically, you didn't really care enough to look. He was beginning to suspect that the only reason that Ceta had protested was because she was worried that her 'valuable' product might be damaged. He was really beginning to dislike this woman.

Ten days later, during a routine test, the chimera turned on her creators. A researcher had instructed her to perform a task designed to test her strength. She decapitated him, coolly and calmly, then proceeded to slaughter everyone in the facility, saying over and over that they were the enemy. A huge battle ensued and in the end the fighting somehow ended up on the bottom of the Deep Sea Deposit. Of the two hundred soldiers and researchers that had manned the research facility, only fifty or so were still alive by that point. The confrontation attracted the attention of the being Ultima Weapon but it just sat there watching the slaughter impassively.

"We begged it to help," Ceta said strain beginning to show on her face once more. "We promised it anything it wanted." She shook her head, a tinge of desperation in her voice. "In the end, it agreed on the condition we give it Eden. I forced the man who'd had it junctioned to give it up."

She explained that the Weapon used a crystalline substance native to the depths to imprison her. The crystal interacted with something in the GF part of her make up and had rendered her inert. The Weapon warned them that it would be unwise to just leave her in that state perpetually and that they should kill her. In the end, though, they couldn't bring themselves to do it and opted to simply seal the facility instead of waste a potentially valuable resource.

"Part of me was always worried about it," Ceta said, "Then one of Alex's spies warned me that all the surviving members of the research team had been killed. When he told me how, I knew she was free." She began wringing her hands nervously. "I was afraid that I was next."

Zell suddenly felt nauseous. They were responsible, they had unsealed the entire facility. They must also have been responsible somehow for freeing her from the crystal. And Ultima Weapon. Instead of the mindless monster he'd always assumed it to be, could it have been trying to keep its promise? Had they, in fact, killed something that was trying to help people? Zell felt pangs of guilt. He'd never given a second thought about killing the Weapon but now he didn't feel so proud of himself.

"What does it, I mean she, want?" Martine asked in a voice even graver than before. Whatever it was, it could not be good.

Ceta sighed, a wavery kind of sound. "Chimera thinks in very binary terms. If something is not good then it must be bad. If one person is a proven threat then all people must present a potential threat." She paused momentarily, perhaps reflecting back on her role in all this. "She was created with the dedication to protect Galbadia. She's now convinced that because Adrick was dangerous, all humans are dangerous. She has no concept of gray."

Martine's eyes widened as he realized the implications of what he was being told. "Are you telling me that she thinks all humans are a threat to Galbadia? That doesn't make sense." Any nation was simply a collection of people who shared the same philosophy and ideals. Take away the people and there was no nation. Galbadia existed only because of its citizens.

Ceta shrugged in resignation. "It does to her."

Zell gulped then asked, "How do we stop her?" He knew that this time the chimera had to die but he didn't really want to do it. Chimera was a victim herself and if she was running around killing people it was because that's what the scientists had designed her to do. Zell sighed, this was going to be even less fun than fighting Griever.

"Simple," was Ceta's response. "You have to incapacitate her and then behead her. It's the only sure way of killing her. She'll heal from virtually anything else." Ceta Echid sat down and put her face in her hands. Zell hoped that she at least had enough conscience left to feel guilty. More likely than not though, she was only worried about her own neck.

Martine's face was as disapproving as everyone else's. It seemed that everyone in the room shared Zell's dislike of the woman. "We need a physical description."

She nodded, her face still buried in her hands. "Alright." She said. She lifted her head, turning to face Martine. "One more thing. You'd better hope that she doesn't activate her abilities somehow. Considering the GFs we used in the process, I would have to assume it wouldn't be a good thing."

No kidding, though Zell sourly as he gave Iris a quick hug. She gave him a quick hug back as she listened to Martine, Cid and Squall formulate a plan of action. Zell promised himself that if anything happened to Iris or any of his friends, he'd have a nice long chat with the irresponsible Doctor Ceta Echid.

*** *** ***

While every available SeeD scoured the globe, looking for Chimera 13, they missed several interesting stories that made the local newspapers over the next several weeks. Had they noticed, they might have figured out what their target was planning.

In the Balamb Times, "The authorities are investigating the apparent theft of the town's only working ferry, 'Blizzard Queen'. The ferry, considered to be historically important by local scholars, had been stolen during the night. A police spokeswoman said that they are investigating the theft but doubt that they will be able to recover the stolen ferry, citing a shortage of manpower. The mayor has come under heavy fire for having recently slashed the police budget. The mayor, when asked to comment, accused the police union of deliberately impeding the investigation in order to make a political statement. The police union expressed outraged."

In the Dollet Herald, "Pharmex-Dallar Inc. has reported the theft of several drugs and scientific compounds. Of the items stolen, several are considered toxic, prompting authorities to issue a warning. Police did not cite specifics but indicated that they are positive that this was an inside job. Police admit that the motive for the crime is unknown, saying that none of the drugs had any street value and that potentially valuable drugs had been left behind. Pharmex officials would not disclose the specific drugs that had been stolen at the request of the police."

In the Winhill Daily News, "Winnifred's Emporium was robbed last night. Winnifred Bergher reported the theft of nearly a quarter of her food stock and some hunting accessories. Sheriff Bernhardt is asking that anyone with information on this crime step forward. As of now, there are no leads."

In the Deling Examiner, "Police issued a statement today indicating that a Center for Disease Control van, equipped for use as a mobile laboratory, was robbed while en route to an undisclosed location. Ten people, including the driver, were all murdered. The secrecy surrounding the vehicle and its destination led to speculation that this action might have been in response to the CDC's rumored support of General Caraway. A CDC official immediately denied the rumor, emphasizing his department's neutrality within the government structure. He speculated instead that Timber terrorist cells were more likely as candidates. Personally, this reporter has to doubt that a haphazard group of freedom fighters would be very interested in a mobile laboratory."

Unknown to all the victims involved, only one person was responsible for all the crimes. Chimera was discreetly gathering everything that she required to create the formula. The CDC mobile lab had been the most difficult. Transporting a fifteen ton truck filled with complex equipment had almost been beyond her ability. Fortunately she had been able to drive it quite a distance, unfortunately she wanted to transport it to the remote regions of Trabia. That was where the old ferry had come in handy. The problem was that it wasn't meant to transport vehicles, only people. It hadn't taken her very long to make enough modifications so that the CDC van could be loaded on. Most of her modifications consisted of ripping out entire sections of the ship, stripping it down to the deck. By the time she was finished, Chimera was sweaty, filthy, and grimy. It wasn't something she enjoyed much. As it was the van only barely fit into the small ship when she was done. She was satisfied though. She was well on her way to freeing all her inherent powers.

Chimera had abandoned her plan to locate her last target in favour of proceeding with her mission. After waiting for nearly a week, she had noted the arrival of another Garden, its blue coloration identifying it as Balamb Garden. The sight of the beautiful mobile base had led her to suspect that Dr. Echid knew that she was a target and had gone to SeeD for help. This now meant that SeeD was a direct threat to her mission. The enemy knew she existed and Echid had undoubtedly told them everything that she knew. As Chimera Project Director, she had known a great deal. Chimera decided that she had to place the highest priority on activating her abilities. Echid and SeeD would no longer be an issue, humanity would no longer be an issue.

She had shepherded the old boat partway to her destination when she heard a faint sound. It had been a low, nearly subsonic sound. What really disturbed her was that it sounded as though it had some from beneath the boat. Stopping the boat, she went down below to determine the source of the sound. As soon as she went below decks, the sound repeated, this time louder. It had a distinctly metallic sound, a sharp sound as though something had snapped. Alarmed, she was about to search for the source of the sound when she heard a horrendous springing sound and the then the sound of water. The sea was flooding into one of the small holds. She didn't even bother attempting to stop the leak, deciding that it was a futile gesture. Instead, she sealed off every door, even going so far as to bend the bulkheads to jam the doors shut. Her goal now was to isolate the leak for as long as possible so that she could safely make shore.

The old boat was simply no longer capable of withstanding a long voyage and repairing it was not in her power. Obviously, the ferry was filled with stress fractures and ancient rivets were beginning to fail. Moving swiftly, she returned to the controls guiding the old ferry to the nearest shore. Her sensitive hearing detected the sound as more rivets failed. The pressure of the water inside the hold must have caused more seams to spring leaks. She was unconcerned however. She was very close to land now.

She made land on the northern side of Balamb, conveniently shielded from the only population center on the island by a mountain range. Chimera unloaded the ferry as the old boat made metallic groaning noises, protesting all the water that had filled its insides. Once everything was safe, she piloted the ferry back to deeper water. Diving beneath the boat, she ripped away sheets of metal near the back, allowing even more water to rush. As the back of the ferry filled with water, it tipped upwards then sank silently into the sea. No one would easily find the ferry.

She hid the vehicle in a secluded area and tried to camouflage it as best as she could. She was not happy about being stranded on Balamb but didn't see much choice about the matter. It was a small island nation and remaining hidden for long would be difficult. She also did not like her proximity to Balamb Garden's preferred location of operation. Still, she would make due, she was nothing if not flexible. She had prepared for just such an eventuality which is why she'd stolen a hunter's camouflage net. It now hid the white CDC van from view. Testing it from the air, she was satisfied that the vehicle was well hidden.

The mobile laboratory, despite being intended for use in isolating pathogens was perfect for creating the formula she needed. It was sterile and had all the equipment necessary to create chemical compounds. She spent days carefully working from memory, combining chemicals in a difficult and time consuming process. Despite her planning, she nearly lost the lab several days into the procedure.

A huge male T-Rexaur, bright red, had descended on the concealed lab, detecting with his excellent sense of smell what he could not see. It was at the height of the mating season and this male was feeling particularly aggressive. He had spent a good part of the morning chasing anything that moved, attacking anything that was out of place. The mobile lab was distinctly new. Roaring at what he perceived to be an intruder, he head-butted the mobile lab. Inside, Chimera nearly lost all her work as the lab was violently shaken.

Opening the door, she saw the angry reptile and jumped out. Noticing her, the T-Rexaur immediately charged her, bearing down on her with remarkable speed. She leapt over his head and skipped down his back. He swung about, roaring in fury at the tiny creature who taunted him. Carefully dancing out of reach of his sharp teeth, Chimera lead him away from the mobile laboratory. The frustrated animal made a piercing shriek as he tried to bite Chimera over and over again with little success. Sometimes she would hover in the air, other times she would jump into a tree, sometimes just running over the ground, always just fast enough to infuriate him. Stopping at a distance she judged safe, Chimera waited for the animal to attack. Bearing down on her with a triumphant bugle, he swung around with lightning speed, intending to strike her with his heavy tail.

As fast as he was, she was faster. She grabbed his tail and used his own momentum to throw him into a tree trunk. The T-Rexaur stumbled to his feet, his rigid face unable to express his surprise. Shaking his head, he got his bearings, leapt around and charged her, again trying to hit her with his tail. Again he went flying. Now he just ran at her, this time intending to bite his small adversary in two. Just as he bore down on her, Chimera leapt into the air and came down directly on his heavily armoured skull, driving his head into the ground.

Standing on the ground in front of him, Chimera gave him an amused little smile. "Do you wish to continue?" she asked, not expecting an answer. The T-Rexaur scrambled to his feet. He charged her one more time but stopped short and snapped at her. With a strange chirping noise, he turned around and ran away into the forest. She did not see him again.

Glad that she hadn't been forced to kill the animal, she returned to her work. After several days, the formula was completed. She filled a syringe and held it up to the light, carefully removing any air bubbles. The fluid inside was a milky blue colour, that caught the light rather attractively. She regarded the syringe for a long time, lost in thought.

It was as she stared at the syringe that she realized she was reluctant to actually use it. She scolded herself, annoyed. If she used it and successfully activated all her powers, she would be able to complete her mission. Finally, she would ensure Galbadia's, no the world's, safety. She loved them far too much to turn her back on her mission now.

Typhon's words bothered her, though. She had no mission, he'd yelled in fury not long before she'd killed him. How could he say that, she wondered. She was doing what his people had made her to do. Was it her fault that they changed their mind or that she wasn't what they'd intended to create? Was it her doing that they were the greatest threat to the nation they had created her to protect? Their inability to see the obvious conclusion was one of their greatest crimes, so self absorbed and arrogant that they had been blind to the truth. It was not just the people in Esthar that were a serious threat, it was all of them. It made her uncomfortable though, the idea that she might be wrong, somewhere, somehow.

She was doing what she was supposed to do: protect, guard, defend. She was only trying to guarantee her mission's success. Eliminating mankind was the only possible way of doing it. Mankind was as great a threat as any her creators had envisioned. Mankind hurt each other, they hurt the world they lived on, they were greedy, selfish, dangerous. They thought nothing of polluting their environment, destroying whole ecosystems, all in the name of insignificant pieces of paper and metal they called money.

And yet, not all humans were dangerous. The ones in the Garden had been nice. Zell Dincht had been helpful, even eager to help her. She had felt comfortable with him, a sensation she was unused to. She had never felt comfortable with her creators, nor they with her. With the SeeD, though, she had felt as though she belonged there. Still, SeeD were trained to kill, and to do it for money, that meant that they were dangerous as well. The truth was that all humans, even appealing ones like Zell Dincht, had the capacity to be greedy, to become dangerous, to be like her creators.

Chimera jammed the syringe into her thigh, injecting herself with the formula. She would rid the world of anyone who might become like her creators, her enemies, the enemy. She would save the world from them all.

*** *** ***

Zell sat in the huge briefing center. Everyone was there, including his old teammates from Balamb and Headmaster Cid. They were all listening to Martine tell them that things had gone from bad to worse. The leaders of both Galbadian factions had been brought to Galbadia Garden in hopes of convincing them of the seriousness of the entire situation. Richard Caraway was currently sitting at one end of the room while Typhon's replacement, one Talos Natok, was glaring at him from the other end. The murder of Alexandros Typhon had made tensions so high that Chimera's threat was dwindling in importance. Even worse, neither man really believed that she existed. Only SeeD seemed to be taking Dr. Ceta Echid seriously.

The problem was that each man was convinced that the other had had Typhon killed, they wouldn't even consider the idea that a super soldier had somehow bypassed every level of security without being detected and then killed the head of Special Forces. No, Natok was convinced that Caraway had ordered Typhon killed and Caraway was certain that Natok had killed his former superior in order to further his own career.

Ceta Echid had patiently explained the project to them but both men were convinced that after such a long time, Chimera 13 must be dead. Natok was convinced that all the murders, including those of the scientists, were all assassinations commissioned by Caraway. Caraway, in turn, sneered and accused Natok of the same thing. The only thing that the two men could agree on was that they hated each other and that they were unhappy with SeeD.

Galbadia Garden had become mobile. Deling City was being orbited by a gargantuan crimson behemoth. One Deling reporter described it as looking like an angel of death and it was, having been fully armed by Esthar's advanced technology. Galbadia's military problems had a tendency to spread if given the opportunity. No one, not SeeD, not any of the other nations of the world, wanted to see a civil war start in Galbadia. The Garden was there to see that it didn't. It was far better for Caraway and Natok to be angry with SeeD instead of trying to kill each other.

Glancing towards Rinoa, Zell was somewhat amused to see the young sorceress with a furious expression on her face. Her father's stubborn denial of the facts was getting on her nerves and her patience was getting thin. Squall was sitting beside her with his trademark "I'm surrounded by morons" expression. Zell had to agree, the two generals were so determined to hate each other that they couldn't admit that there were more important things to worry about. Incredibly powerful, part-Guardian super soldiers that were bent on destroying all human life would be high on his priority list but then Zell remembered Seifer Almasy. He'd been a man blinded by hate too and Zell knew full well how he'd felt about Seifer.

If Seifer and him had been in the same position as Caraway and Natok, would he be able to set aside his anger and cooperate with a hated enemy to defeat a common threat? He liked to think that he could endure that arrogant creep long enough to do the job, but on the other hand, maybe he couldn't after all.

The large screen above Martine's head displayed a beautifully sketched drawing of a young woman. Zell was torn between being impressed by the sheer talent of the artist and feelings of distress at the subject. The image was of a lovely woman with long technicolour hair and impossibly green eyes. It still bothered him that the lovely woman on the screen was Chimera 13. It was also Kim from the library. 

The fact that Chimera had infiltrated Galbadia Garden was being suppressed but Zell wished that he could talk about it. He understood her coldness now and even sympathized with her, he didn't always think much of people either. What really bothered him about the whole thing was that he was quite likely one of only a handful of people who'd met Chimera and lived. It was a rather disturbing thought. Once he'd realized who Kim really was, he'd been haunted by visions of seeing his head wedged into a bookcase, eyes wide and staring helplessly at some calculus textbook. It had been days before he was able to shake the morbid thought.

Zell couldn't tear his eyes from the drawing. As excellent as it was, it couldn't do her justice. No drawing could capture that elusive presence that she had. If there was any angel of death roaming the world, it's name was Chimera. Poor kid, he thought to himself, she didn't even get a real name, just a sequence number on a petri dish. 

"This is enough, I'm not going to listen to this… this… fantasy of yours!" Natok suddenly yelled, thrusting up from his seat. His face was ruddy with anger. "Caraway killed them, all of them, not some illusionary woman." His finger was pointed at Caraway accusingly. "He even killed the CDC people."

Ceta Echid looked baffled. "CDC people?" she asked curiously. Her self-imposed isolation in Galbadia Garden had prevented her from keeping track of current events.

Natok glared at her, refusing to speak. Caraway glanced at her with an annoyed expression on his face. "A CDC mobile laboratory was stolen and the crew was killed."

For some reason the news alarmed Ceta Echid. Leaning towards him, she grabbed his arm. "How were they killed, Richard?" Her voice had become thin with fear.

Now Caraway became confused. "Decapitation," he answered, vaguely confused. He'd not taken her seriously since the day she had accepted Alexandros' marriage proposal. Not even the divorce, years later, had improved his opinion of her much. Her frightened expression, however, worried him. It wasn't typical of her, she'd always been coolly professional.

Her face turned white and she seemed to shrivel even as people watched. Even Natok noticed her obvious distress. "What is it, Doctor?" he asked, suddenly less sure of himself.

Ceta Echid moaned, a small deathly sound. "She knows. She knows. Oh Goddess, how did she find out?" She buried her face in her hands. "Hyne, what have I done?" She put her head and, just like a small child, covered her head with her arms. She wouldn't respond to anyone's questions.

Decapitation certainly sounded like something Chimera would do, Zell thought. Everyone she had killed had quite literally lost their heads. But why would she be interested in a mobile lab, he wondered. Suddenly it clicked. Hadn't Ceta said that Chimera's abilities had been temporarily blocked? That meant that she was trying to undo what Ceta's people had done, she was trying to release all her powers. He remembered all the books that she had been studying in Galbadia's library. History to know what had happened in the last twenty years, science and medicine to learn how to become the lethal killing machine she had been meant to be. Zell also remembered the GFs that they had found in the Deep Sea Research Center: Bahamut and Eden.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed before he realized that he'd said anything. Most people just looked at him in annoyance but his circle of friends seemed concerned by his outburst, wondering what it was that had upset him. Zell ignored the older men in the room and spoke directly to his friends.

"Kim's using that lab to activate her GF powers." As soon as he'd said it he realized that he had used the wrong name, the name that Chimera had given him in the library. Zell winced hoping that no-one would think anything of it. Saying Kim sounded like he knew her.

Caraway leaned forward, zeroing in on the young SeeD's slip of the tongue. "Kim? Why do you call her Kim and not Chimera?" 

Zell tried to think of something to say to cover up his mistake but already knew that he had screwed up. He stammered an excuse but Martine gave Zell a sour look and interrupted.

"Chimera is real, gentlemen. She was able to infiltrate Garden and disguise herself as a student. She called herself Kim at that time." Martine pointed up towards the image of Chimera as he continued to speak. "Eyewitness reports positively identified this woman as Kim." Pausing momentarily, he looked both generals in the eye. "Now it seems that she is trying to gain the powers of a GF without the implied restraints."

Caraway had an annoyed expression on his face. "Why didn't you just tell us that you had actual confirmation of her existence instead of all this sidestepping?" He sighed and tapped his fingers on the conference table. "Typhon always was an idiot," Caraway grumbled, "who else would think up an idea as badly thought out as that." Turning to his rival, he folded his arms over his chest. "Talos, we're going to have to do something about this. This Chimera is apparently real." He smiled grimly. "We can kill each other later."

Natok nodded, apparently subdued by Martine's admission. He nodded at Caraway's comment absently. Looking up, he said that they would set aside their differences for now. He then demanded to be returned to Deling City. Martine nodded but insisted that Galbadia Garden would remain exactly where it was. Both Caraway and Natok reluctantly agreed.

When they had left, Martine turned his attention to the SeeDs present. "Do you think Odine would be helpful against her?" he asked Squall.

Squall just shrugged. "Probably."

Iris nodded her agreement. "He discovered GFs so he likely knows the most about them." Pointing towards the still distraught Ceta Echid, she said, "Echid used Esthar technology to create Chimera. Odine has got to know more about that kind of thing than she does. Esthar's ages ahead of us technologically."

Cid spoke up for the first time. "Iris is right. If anyone can help us its Esthar. President Loire seems rather fond of the lot of you," he remarked smiling, prompting Squall to roll his eyes. Squall didn't seem thrilled with the idea of returning to Esthar. Zell knew that Squall didn't have the highest opinion of Laguna but Zell rather liked him. "I think that Squall, Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Iris, and Quistis should go to Esthar on the Ragnorok."

Rinoa looked outraged. "Hey, what about me? I'm not leaving Squall and that's that!" She grabbed Squall's arm and hung onto it, provoking an amused grin from the object of her attentions.

Both Cid and Martine looked uncomfortable with the idea. Martine coughed and smiled apologetically. "Sorceress Rinoa, it is SeeD's duty to protect you. Its safest for you here or at Balamb Garden. We'd rather you didn't put yourself in jeopardy."

Rinoa shook her finger at them, annoyed. "No no no no no. We're getting married in seven months and I'm not taking any chances." She smiled at Squall fondly. "What if he gets captured or something? If I'm not there, I can't rescue him."

From behind them, Irvine laughed softly. "Let her come," he advised, his voice filled with amusement. "or you might end up being pushed down a flight of stairs." Cid and Martine looked somewhat confused but the others just laughed, remembering that Rinoa had done exactly that to Irvine during their escape from the D-District prison.

Cid raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright," he said by way of surrender. "Just make sure you all come back in one piece."

Selphie was hopping up and down in excitement. "Whoohoo! I can't wait to see Sir Laguna again." She grabbed Irvine's sleeve and began pulling on it. "C'mon, lets go."

"Just don't make any detours through hurricanes this time, Sefie," Irvine said with a sigh as he followed her out the door.

Selphie stuck her tongue out at him. "You just don't know how to have fun, that's all."

Zell was amused by the whole thing but in the back of his mind, something was nagging at him. If only he could figure out what it was. Maybe later he could talk to Squall. It probably was nothing. He was startled out of his reverie by Iris' voice, calling him. With a smile, he ran after them. Yeah, he thought, it was probably nothing.

**** **** ****


	3. Default Chapter Title

****

FF8: The Saviours - Part Three

by Astarte

Chimera slowly opened her eyes, feeling in a way that she had never known before. Her entire body ached, she felt as though she were on fire, and every time she moved her head the world seemed to move faster than her head did. These side effects were not unexpected but it was one thing to understand something intellectually and something else entirely to actually experience it for the first time. She found that she did not much care for human frailty.

She was able to tolerate the discomfort but it was the sound in her head that was almost intolerable. The sound was like a roaring sound that wouldn't go away. Sometimes it was quiet but other times it was very loud indeed. Right now, it was loud and getting louder by the minute. Instinct drove her to plug her ears but she couldn't stop the noise. She was not hearing it with her ears.

__

*Go!* A thought suddenly burst out of the noise, startling her. It was not her own thoughts for it had a distinctly male sense to it_. *Go now!*_ The voice shouted at her with urgency. The voice had sounded distant even though it was shouting. What was going on, she wondered hazily. 

__

*They come. Leave and live, stay and perish.* The voice was getting louder as though the owner of the voice was approaching. Now her sensitive hearing could pick up a distant humming sound. It was a definitely mechanical sound, one that she recognized. It was the sound of a mobile Garden. Balamb Garden was headed towards her.

Staggering out of the van, Chimera found refuge in the sea. Sinking as deep as she could, she watched the beautiful Garden float over her and onto the beach. Someone must have discovered the lab and alerted SeeD. They had come hoping to find her. If the voice had not warned her, she would have been captured and very possibly killed.

Thank you, she tried to say to the owner of the voice, casting her thoughts to the entity. Straining to hear, the noise in her head burst like a dam and Chimera was suddenly aware of at least a dozen voices. Some were feminine, others male, and at least one definitely hissed. Despite her current weakness, she was curious to find out who these beings were. Her inborn instincts drove her to find out if these new people were threats or potential allies.

__

*Your gratitude is unnecessary. You are of us now.* The voice resonated within her as though she were a tuning fork. The voice sounded much closer now and had a deeply male and regal voice. The voice seemed familiar somehow but Chimera wasn't sure where or how she recognized the voice. It struck her as peculiar. If she had ever heard the being's voice before she should have remembered it. For the first time in her life, Chimera was confused.

The owner of the voice seemed moderately amused by her confusion. She heard a smoky laugh echo in her mind, a low rumbling sound. The familiarity of it nagged at her. _*Of course you know me, little one. I am Bahamut.*_

Bahamut? This was completely unexpected, she had not realized that the Guardians were even aware of her. She thought back to her assumption that Bahamut had been junctioned but perhaps she had been mistaken. Perhaps he was free. Could she possibly persuade him to ally with her? Her mission would be much more easily accomplished if she had the Lord of the Guardians at her side. 

__

*No, little one. I cannot choose sides in this matter. A handful of humans earned my respect enough to allow them to junction me. Honour prevents me from acting against them. Yet, you are one of my own and I must protect those of my kind.* Bahamut paused, distaste colouring his mental tone. _*This has become complicated.*_

Chimera could only agree. It was becoming steadily more complicated as each day passed. She could not even begin to comprehend the ethical dilemma the great dragon faced. Such was the burden of leadership, something she would never aspire to even if the opportunity ever presented itself. She was the only one of her kind. She doubted that the opportunity would ever arise.

After that brief conversation, the Guardians kept silent no longer speaking to each other or to her. She supposed that they were all caught up in this conflict of loyalties. Chimera found it somewhat surprising that such powerful beings should feel compelled to junction themselves to such lowly creatures as humans. As a group humans were too driven by the trivial and the mundane, rarely tried to exceed their limits, mostly satisfied by the superficial and the quick fix. The rare few who did stretch beyond the limitations of their species were generally looked down on by the masses. Perhaps the Guardians had found the gems among the dross.

Chimera waited patiently for the Garden to leave. By the time they did go, heading to the east, Chimera felt completely recovered. Waiting until she could no longer hear the hum of the craft, she launched herself into the air and hovered there. She could feel strange powers coursing through her, if only she knew exactly what those powers were. Landing not far from the lab, she regarded it for a long time. SeeD had torn the place apart looking for her and any information that they could use against her.

A faint sound alerted her. A small craft was approaching. Keeping hidden, she watched as a group of soldiers in black military gear got out of the ship and started sweeping the area, weapons at the ready. The uniforms were unmarked so she couldn't identify which army they belonged to but it was certain that they were not SeeD. They had been following the SeeD obviously hoping that they would be led to her. She had her own suspicions as to whose soldiers these were.

She patiently watched as they cautiously approached the abandoned laboratory, determined to learn as much about these enemies as she could. Highly professional, a group of men stood guard while others cautiously entered the lab. After a few moments, they came out looking rather frustrated. One of the soldiers saluted another. That was the one in charge, Chimera noted to herself, the one to watch.

"Sir, the lab has been abandoned. There is nothing left to indicate the target's whereabouts, Sir," the female soldier said in a voice that was clipped and precise. The officer merely nodded, looking as though he wasn't entirely surprised.

"Is there any evidence to establish proof of the target's existence?" the officer asked in an equally clipped voice. The soldier nodded and held up a plastic evidence bag. Inside it was the syringe that Chimera had used to inject herself with.

"There should be traces of blood in the syringe. If the target exists, the DNA won't be human." She handed it over to her superior officer. He held it up before his eyes regarding it thoughtfully.

The officer handed the bag back to the soldier and turned away, walking towards the ship. "Destroy it, soldier. We have our orders. No evidence that contradicts our department's official position."

Chimera was amused, humans were so predictable. Even faced with a common threat they still engaged in political machinations. Instead of dealing with potential extinction, they were jockeying for social position. How the species had managed to survive so long was a mystery to her.

The power was flowing within her. Newborn knowledge was starting to creep into her conscious mind, telling her what she could do and how. What she was unsure of were her limits. These soldiers provided a perfect opportunity to test herself.

Bursting out of her hiding spot, she caught them off guard. Manifesting her powers to their fullest she felt herself lift off the ground, surrounded by a pillar of living green fire. Tongues of flame caressed her as she hovered over her enemies. They tried firing at her, wasting round after round of ammunition that merely vaporized as soon as it touched the hellish heat of the pillar. Others tried to fight fire with fire, using flame-throwers against her but to no avail.

Some of the soldiers bolted, trying to run for the ship and its supposed safety. Chimera merely reached out her hand and a tendril of green fire lashed out at the runners. As soon as the fire touched them, they seemed to whither and change to ash gray. They stood there like shriveled statues until a stiff breeze made them collapse into piles of ash.

Other soldiers, having learned that their weapons were useless, tried using magic against her but it did little good. The magic they cast against her only fed the fires, making her stronger. A soldier cast meltdown on her, blowing away most of her vitality but the fire protected her from their guns and magic. Surprisingly it was a stone that one desperate soldier hurtled at her that successfully hit Chimera. A natural chunk of granite, it pierced the heat of the fire and struck her full in the chest, causing her to grunt in pain. Unfortunately the rock was only enough to make Chimera very angry.

The pillar of green fire was alive and swelled in reflection of her fury. She stretched out her hand, claws unsheathed and made a violent slashing motion. Tendrils of fire whipped out in mimicry of her action, striking the surviving soldiers. The fire wrapped itself around each soldier it touched and literally sucked the very life-force out of them.

Chimera let the power drain from her and stood there, half crouched and panting, her hands on her knees. She was exhausted and covered in sweat. Looking around wearily, she saw piles of gray ash and nothing else. She tried to sense the presence of survivors but there were none.

__

*Interesting.*

She looked up, sure that she had heard Bahamut's voice but she didn't hear anything. She had pushed the limits of her powers but she knew that they would grow as she practiced. Right now though, all that she really wanted was a nice swim to wash the sweaty grime from her body and a nice long nap.

*** *** ***

As soon as the Ragnorok had landed in Esthar, the SeeD team was quickly ushered into Laguna Loire's office. The Esthar had been radioed ahead and told that something was seriously wrong but they hadn't been told exactly what it was. Even Zell realized that radio frequencies weren't secure. Quistis had suggested bringing Doctor Echid along because no-one else was capable of explaining the Chimera Project in sufficient detail. Odine would almost certainly have questions that none of the SeeD would be qualified to answer and since they had the former head of the project in their possession, she figured that they should use that advantage.

Iris, who had been assigned to shadow Ceta, helped the emotionally fragile woman into a seat and gave her encouragement. Laguna's face grew pale as he listened to Ceta Echid explain, yet again, everything that had happened. Laguna opened his mouth several times, only to shut it without saying a thing. For once, Ward didn't need Kiros to translate for him, he was more than a little disgusted with the doctor and it showed. Kiros just shook his head. Odine, on the other hand, was clearly fascinated and even impressed. Zell wasn't terribly surprised at that, after all, Odine was the poster child of amorality.

Laguna took a deep breath and looked at Squall. "How much damage has she done so far?"

Squall cocked his head slightly. "She's killed thirty people that we know of. Did you have any decapitation murders lately?" Zell couldn't help but notice the huge empty space between the two men. He wondered what the heck Squall had against Laguna, he thought that Laguna was a terrific guy, even if he was a bit goofy sometimes. He figured that he'd ask Iris later, she had a good nose for this kind of thing.

Laguna scratched his head and looked towards Kiros with a vaguely helpless expression on his face. Kiros shook his head in resigned amusement and answered the young SeeD leader's question. "No, we haven't had any problems at all. Chimera likes decapitating people?"

Odine pushed Kiros aside with an annoyed expression on his face. Kiros, for his part, just rolled his eyes and stepped out of the little scientist's way. "Go avay. No one cares about trivial things," Odine said, "What iz important iz knowing details of how zis girl vaz created." Personally, Zell would have liked to hit the scrawny little man.

The two scientists spent the better part of an hour speaking a language that no-one except another scientist could ever hope to understand. The conversation grew rather animated and Ceta Echid seemed to warm up to the subject. Zell wasn't really fond of the idea that these two got along so well, neither one had the ethical maturity to be trusted. What was truly unnerving was how animated Odine had become, it was as if he liked the entire concept behind the project. Zell sneered, knowing Odine, he probably did.

"Gives you the creeps, doesn't it?" Zell nearly jumped, startled out of his wits. Looking around wildly, he saw Laguna standing beside him, a smile on his face. "Sorry to scare you there," Laguna laughed, "I never thought I'd ever frighten a SeeD." His grin faded somewhat and he nodded towards the two scientists. "She's just like him, isn't she?" He was looking at Ceta Echid with just a touch of distrust in his eyes.

Zell nodded his agreement. He was glad he wasn't the only one who'd noticed how similar those two were. If even Laguna Loire noticed, then it had to be really obvious. Zell wished that he knew what it was that Squall had against Laguna. "Did you and Squall have a fight or something?" he asked before common sense could kick in. Looking at Laguna's sad expression, he wanted to dive into a deep dark hole someplace. Man, he groaned to himself, when was he going to learn to keep his mouth shut. "I'm sorry Mr. Loire, just forget I asked."

Laguna had the most odd expression on his face, one that Zell couldn't identify. Laguna was looking at Squall, who was quietly talking to Quistis and Rinoa. "You didn't know?" he asked but didn't sound all that surprised. Laguna sighed. "He's my son. I told him a couple of weeks after that whole Ultimecia thing was over. He called me an irresponsible moron."

Zell was stunned, he just couldn't believe it. Raine? Yeah, now that he thought about it, Squall did look a lot like Raine. Why wouldn't Squall bring it up? Probably because he'd been hurt and upset and getting Squall to bring anything up was an adventure in itself. Zell tried to put himself in his friend's position, picturing how it would feel to learn that your father had been alive all this time and knew about you but didn't come for you. I guess I'd be mad too, Zell thought to himself. "Have you talked to him?" he asked. He would really like it if Squall would be able to get along with his father, parents were important even the goofy ones.

Laguna nodded another sad smile on his face. "I did. I don't think he's really all that mad at me anymore, he's just not willing to let me into his life just yet. My own damn fault." He scratched his head again and shrugged. "Besides," Laguna confessed with a rueful smile. "He wasn't a big fan of mine even before I told him. When we first met, he called me a…silly Galbadian soldier." Looking towards his son, Laguna said, "Squall's way too serious and my casual approach to life bugged the heck out of him."

Odine's triumphant approach prevented Zell from saying anything in response. Actually, Zell was grateful to see the little weasel for once. That way he didn't have an opportunity to put his foot in his mouth again. I should just keep it there permanently, Zell gripped to himself, its in there so often.

"Why ze long faces? Odine understands all." His expression was rather smug and Zell remembered why he detested Odine so much.

"Well?" asked Laguna impatiently. "And make it short and easy to understand."

Odine's expression became angry. "Very vell. You are screwed." Odine pouted. "Iz zat short and easy enough?"

Zell was getting very tired of the man. "C'mon! Be helpful for once in your life," he growled in frustration. Laguna glared at the little scientist but Odine simply stood there, sulking. Squall, Quistis and even Kiros tried talking to Odine but he wouldn't budge. Squall and Laguna were both getting very angry.

Suddenly Iris whipped out her tristaff, swinging it right under the obnoxious little man's nose. "Quit wasting our time, Odine." Then she grabbed him by his collar and pulled him so close that their noses nearly touched. "Disregarding your president's orders sounds suspiciously like treason. The punishment for treason is almost universal." With a glance towards Laguna, she smiled coolly. "Meaning no disrespect towards Mr. Loire but I'll bet he never got around to abolishing the death penalty for treason."

Odine's expression was a mixture of shock and fright. "You cannot! I am Odine," he stammered. Odine didn't look as though he was used to being roughed up and Iris looked as though she enjoyed acquainting him with it.

"You won't be anything unless you start behaving with a touch more loyalty. Mr. Loire is much more patient and forgiving of treason than I am." She swung her tristaff experimentally, a deceptively sweet smile on her face. "Its your choice: breathing and cooperative or dead and defiant. I don't care which option you choose." Zell had to stifle a laugh. People were always making the mistake of assuming sweet little Iris was helpless and timid. They were always surprised to see the ferocious creature that lurked just beneath the adorable exterior.

Odine stared at Iris' cold expression for a few seconds then grumbled, "All right. I vill talk, just go avay you nasty girl." Iris smiled charmingly and let him go with a shove towards Laguna. Laguna seemed slightly shocked. Of course, he'd never met Iris before either.

With a glance towards Iris, Odine reluctantly started talking. "Echid's procedure was very efficient, almost as good as my work. Ze being she created is not merely a chimera but genetically engineered as vell. Ze problem iz that Echid did not understand ze true nature of ze Guardian Forces. If zis chimera becomes fully activated she vill become very powerful and very difficult to stop."

Odine went on to describe the problem. GFs resided in many levels of reality at once, what most people termed "dimensions". A GF was quite capable of splitting itself apart, one reality at a time. "Ven you summon or junction a GF, it iz only ze part of the part of ze GF that exists here, with us. GFs are very careful not to harm their host and do not junction physically. Echid essentially made a physical junction of GF to human. " He went on to explain that the GF's ability to split apart and rejoin made its cellular structure rather aggressive. This meant that inevitably the GF tissue would overtake the human tissue within Chimera. All that held the process in check was the inhibiting agents that Echid and her team had used. "If she reverses zis, she vill be very hard to defeat. Even though ze junctioning of human and GF tissue vill not be complete, it would be correct to call her a Guardian."

Chimera might turn into a GF? Zell was surprised but not terribly worried, they'd fought and beaten GFs before. They'd survived Diablo, Cerberus, Bahamut and even Griever. Zell said just that to Odine with a touch of confidence creeping into his voice.

Odine laughed. "Fool. Griever vas not even real, he vas an illusion Sorceress Ultimecia pulled from your mind. There is no such Guardian. Ze GF's you fought were not really interested in killing you, it vas just a test. You have never faced a GF that vas really trying," He sneered and stomped away. "If any did, you would not be here."

They were interrupted by the sound of a communicator going off. Quistis opened the channel and started nodding. Her face became concerned and as soon as the person on the other end had hung up she turned to Squall. "That was Xu. They found the CDC lab. Abandoned. She said that it looks as if Chimera was finished whatever it was she was doing there."

Zell was beginning to hate his job. Every time he thought things couldn't get worse, they did. Every time he thought the situation was bad, it was even worse than he thought. If Chimera was finished that could only mean one thing: They were now faced with fighting a GF that would, as Odine put it, really try to kill them. 

Odine became suddenly sober. "Zis substance Chimera vas encased in. It might be ze only weapon available to us. I must have some. With it, Echid and I can create something for SeeD to use." Zell was slightly shocked that Odine was now taking this all seriously. Of course, Odine's neck was on the line as well. He was probably high on Chimera's decapitation list.

Squall turned and pointed at Zell. "Zell, I want you, Iris, Selphie and Irvine to take the Ragnorok to the Deep Sea Research Facility and get Odine as much of that stuff as you can. The rest of us will try and pinpoint Chimera's next target."

Zell frowned in confusion. "Wouldn't she come and attack Esthar? That's what she was supposed to do in the first place." Still he was very excited. He was finally going to be able to do something instead of just sit and wait around.

Rinoa hesitantly stepped forward, her expression very thoughtful. "No," she said shaking her head slowly, "Chimera hasn't rushed into anything so far. Besides, she was supposed to protect Galbadia, not attack Esthar. I'm not so sure that she'll come here until she's positive that she can beat Laguna's army."

Zell thought about it and had to agree that Rinoa might be right. But if she wasn't coming to Esthar, where would she go? What would he do first if he were on the same mission as Chimera? He asked the others.

None of them had an answer either.

*** *** ***

Sheyd was a quiet little fishing community that had discovered the benefits of tourism. Situated comfortably halfway between Timber and Dollet, Sheyd attracted tourists twice a year. They came here to watch the whales as they made their annual migration to, and later from, their summer feeding grounds. Normally a sleepy little town, twice a year Sheyd became a bustling community whose population exploded to more than three times the off-season. Little cafés, boutiques and inns opened in a bid to part some of their wealthy clientele from their money. The tourists also loved the charm of the street vendors who often shouted at the passing tourists as though they would expire if no-one bought their wares very soon. What people visiting Sheyd loved best, however, was the friendliness of the people who lived there. In Sheyd, there was always a friendly face and a welcoming smile. Inevitably, the tourists would leave and the residents would close down most of the boutiques, cafés and street stands. Sheyd would begin to settle back into its quiet comfortable routine.

Sheyd was very quiet today. There were no people on the streets, no fishermen on the docks, no sales clerks in the stores, no children at class or in the playgrounds. Everything was very silent. The streets were deserted, with only abandoned cars scattered here and there, some parked neatly on the side of the road, others sitting at mad angles right in the middle of the street. Some cars' engines were still idling, waiting for their owners to come, others had crashed into walls or light posts. One car had collided with a fire hydrant; water gushed out in a towering geyser, flooding the entire street. No one rushed out to see what was happening.

The little restaurant that the locals liked to frequent, a greasy spoon owned by a plump man named Victor and his cheerful and equally plump wife Ariel, was completely empty. Some of the tables had food on them, waiting for the patrons to eat. An order pad and a pencil lay on the floor, written on it an order for two cheeseburgers, two coffee and extra large onion rings on the side. Neither the waitress who'd written the order nor the customers could be seen. In the back, a dishwasher patiently waited for its load to be removed so that another load could be cleaned. The telephone was making a steady beeping noise, the handset dangling on the floor like a fish on a hook. On the grill, a large T-bone steak was burning to a charcoal crisp. On the burner, the café's specialty of the house, bouillabaisse, was boiling over unattended. 

Over at the town's only supermarket, the parking lot was full of cars but there were no people inside shopping. No one was behind the meat counter, or the cheese counter, or the cash registers. There was no one in the truck out back to unload that morning's shipment of fresh vegetables and fruit. There was also no sign of a driver. There is no one to clean up the mess in aisles four, seven, and eight where jars of canned fruit and jam had inexplicably fallen and shattered in the middle of the aisles, far from the shelves that they had been sitting on. Shopping carts sat everywhere all filled with groceries but with no one to push them or purchase their contents.

Arden Sheyd Public School was completely empty. There were no teachers or students in the classrooms or halls. There were no janitors to turn off the water faucets in the boys' and girls' washrooms. There was no one in the library to pick up the books that were lying on the floor or stacked on tables. In the cafeteria, trays full of food sat on the tables, waiting to be eaten. A big sign colorfully announced that "Today is Hot Dog Day - Catch 'em" but no one was lined up for the popular lunch item. The big clock on the wall patiently ticked away the time; 12:00… 12:15… 12:30… 12:45... 1:00… The bell rang, announcing the end of first lunch but there were no students to hear.

The playground was filled with toys and bikes but no children. Buckets and shovels sat in the sand box next to little toy trucks and brightly coloured tricycles. Someone had carefully made a road in the sand that ended at a little sand house, little twigs had been used as trees, pebbles substituted for mountains. A little margarine tub filled with water had served as a lake and an origami boat floated in it unattended. There were no sounds of laughing children, no shouts or screams of delight, no hollering in outrage when one child refused to share a toy.

Sheyd was silent but not empty. Looking around, one would see mysterious piles of gray ash lying everywhere. It was in homes, on streets, in the stores and cafés. It was in the schools, on the docks, and it even mingled with the sand in the playground. Gray ash. Blowing through the town, out onto the ocean, to drift away to some unseen shore. The citizens of Sheyd had become a part of the ocean that they had once so loved.

Death walked along the sidewalk, her steel-shod boots clicking loudly against the cement. Chimera wandered the streets, a large flower perched over one ear. She momentarily stopped and closed her eyes, sighing in sensual pleasure as the wind rippled through her hair. It was heavily scented with flowers, freshly cut grass and salt air. She continued her walk, looking at the neat rows of houses in disdain.

They looked incredibly ugly to her. Unnatural boxes surrounded by expanses of green desert. The only flowers that had been permitted to grow had been those that had met mankind's narrow, ignorant ideal. No vetch, no dandelions, no thistles. None of those tough, lovely little plants had been permitted for fear that they would spoil the sterile perfection of the stark green deserts man called lawns. Not even the showier blooms were good enough for man. The fragile beauty of a wild violet wasn't sufficient, they had to be bred into obscene caricatures of the original.

Chimera glanced towards a large tree. There was a bird feeder hanging from one branch from a long wire, a big metal collar protecting the precious contents from squirrels. In a sudden burst of anger, Chimera strode up to the offending feeder and pulled off the collar. Even man's generosity was reserved for the select few. No squirrels or uglier birds were permitted here. Never mind that they too might have empty bellies or hungry offspring. No, man only cared about the attractive, musically inclined few.

Nature would reclaim this place, the once reviled weeds and pests would be the ultimate victors. Galbadia would reclaim what had always been hers alone. Hyne, for all Her wisdom, had made a grave mistake when She first breathed life into man. After all, Chimera thought, what sane species would deliberately create its own destruction?

Whatever regret she felt at killing had to be balanced against what needed to be done. Man had become like a pathogen, contaminating every place and everything they touched. If they had wished to live so badly, they should have given more thought to what they were doing. If you create a weapon, you must be ready to accept responsibility for what happens when that weapon is used.

As she walked, Chimera noticed that she had entered a graveyard. It was small and the gravestones were all very old and faded. Looking at one particularly old marker, she could barely make out the words "Beloved Wife". Above was a name lost to the years. Chimera felt an awareness, many in fact, all around her.

Cocking her head slightly, she strained to hear the voices. At first she wondered who they might be since they sounded nothing like Bahamut and his children. Then she understood. The long dead, tied to this place by bloodline and history. Low and murmuring, they protested, some in despair, others in anger, some seemed full of pity. Murderer, some shrieked. Why, others wailed, even in death weeping for lost family. Others, the ones who seemed to pity her, merely pleaded for her to reconsider her path.

Think of the rule of three, said one old, old voice. Do no harm lest it return to you threefold. There are always consequences, no matter how well-meaning your intentions. You will not come to a good end if you do not change your ways.

Chimera sneered. "Do not speak to me of consequence. Your own species has brought this about. Your kind created me so you would do well yourself to think of the rule of three." She folded her arms in angry defiance. How dare they?! Who were they to speak of consequences when they were the biggest offenders of all. Destroyer, murderer? They would have done well to look in the mirror. No human being could claim to have blood-free hands.

The wind seemed to sigh. An' I pity you, said the ancient voice.

Chimera turned away. She had no need for any dead woman's pity. She would not come to a bad end, she would be the victor.

Galbadia was depending on her.

*** *** ***

Zell didn't feel comfortable. It wasn't just the clamminess that was making his muscles ache or the flickering, sputtering lights that cast weird shadows over everything, it was the endemic corrosion that made him uncomfortable. Everything was rustier than it had been the last time, decaying as though some sacred place had been violated by mortal man. Damp, salty air had begun to corrode all the metal and everywhere Zell turned the rust seemed like an indictment.

He, Squall, and Irvine had opened up the Deep Sea Research Centre, level by level, on their trip down to the bottom. It was increasingly obvious that the hurricane Irvine mentioned had driven sea water into the place. Somehow, either the hurricane itself or the intruding ocean had been responsible for freeing Chimera. Guilt nagged at him. The idea that Chimera might have slept for an eternity if they hadn't been nosey kept eating away at him. He couldn't help but wonder if those people she'd killed were partly his fault too. But how were they supposed to have known?

Maybe he was just feeling so guilty because the real people responsible hadn't felt any. Someone had to feel at least a little bit of guilt about all this. Ceta Echid was only concerned with avoiding the consequences of her actions, saving her own skin and reputation. That she had been creating a slave race had never seemed to bother her, horrify her. She had never seen anything wrong with the idea of owning another person. Likely, she'd never even considered Chimera a person at all. Zell did not even want to imagine what kind of impression Chimera had been left with, what she thought humans were.

The four of them cautiously made their way down the levels in a strange repeat of the past. Irvine was in the lead, holding his rifle at the ready; he was followed by Iris who had a semi-automatic in each hand, her tristaff keeping company with the grenades on her belt. Selphie followed close behind, her nunchaku at the ready and another of Iris' semi-automatics on a belt. She hadn't wanted it but Iris had been insistent so she'd given in just to get some peace. Finally, Zell brought up the rear. They were far more cautious this time than before, none of them really wanted to waste precious time fighting scores of monsters, especially the kind that liked to haunt this place. It was better to take their time heading down than to rush, alerting every ruby dragon in the entire place.

Caution paid off and they only had to fight a handful of Trifaces. Reaching the bottom, they immediately started to search the dark pit that Ultima Weapon had once called home. Selphie set up some lighting so that they could see better and Zell was immediately attacked by pangs of guilt at the sight of a huge skeleton. Ultima Weapon.

"Ummm, is that Ultima?" Selphie asked quietly looking up at Irvine. Iris was also looking at the incredible remains, her eyes wide in almost childlike wonder. Iris had been an instructor's assistant at the time and Selphie had missed encountering both Ultima and Omega.

Irvine just nodded solemnly and Zell realized he wasn't the only one who felt bad about what had happened here two years previously. He wished he could make it up to the ancient being. The only way he knew how was to fix the mess that he had helped create.

Iris tore her gaze away from the hypnotic remains and started searching around. Hands on hips, she looked up at the distant ceiling. "You guys, if Chimera was here two years ago, where the heck was she?"

Good question, Zell thought. He looked around trying to remember if anything looked different from the last time. It was much darker for one thing. The crystals had all been glowing the last time. They were all dark now. The machinery over there was still in place. Zell managed a half-smile. For once, Zell hadn't done anything disastrous, it had been Squall's playing with the console that had awakened Ultima Weapon. It was, like all the other machinery, rustier. The pool was still there, unchanged. Zell tapped his foot. What was different? Something had to be different. Girl sized chunks of crystal weren't that inconspicuous.

Irvine suddenly pointed to the large stone column that dominated the chamber. "There!" He said excitedly, "In the back. There was a huge cluster of crystals there the last time. Its gone now." Irvine looked slightly sheepish. "I remember 'cause I'd sort of thought it might be valuable. Then Ultima came and I kind of forgot…" Irvine shrugged with a smile. Striding over, Irvine crouched down to inspect the area. With a triumphant expression he held up a dusty hand.

"White dust everywhere. It looks like ground up crystal." Standing up he looked at one of the crystalline formations on the pillar. Tapping it, he was surprised to see it crumble away. "Yep, this must be the stuff." Irvine looked around. "Its all dead though."

Zell sighed and looked at the crystals near him. They were all dead too. They had glowed a greenish white back then but now they were opaque and crumbly. Whatever it was that had happened, it seemed to have gotten them all. Frustrated that they had come all this way for nothing, Zell bashed his fist into the wall. 

He was stunned when part of the wall fell away, chunks of rock nearly hitting his toes, and revealed sedately glowing crystal. Hitting his forehead, Zell felt like an idiot. Of course! Only the crystals that had been exposed during the hurricane had been destroyed. Stuff buried in the rock was still okay. Eagerly, he began to dig at the crystal with his bare hands.

"You found some!" Iris exclaimed. She ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Lemme see!" She eagerly watched as Zell wrenched the rod-like piece of crystal out of the wall. Carefully he handed it to her and she crooned softly as she held it in her arms like child. "Its gorgeous." Almost reluctantly, she handed it to Irvine who carefully put it in a protective case.

Selphie handed Zell a small digging tool and he dug around in the weak area of the wall. He was rewarded by another piece. After about an hour, he had found two more pieces in the same vein before it disappeared below the floor. A total of four pieces, each nearly a foot and a half long and almost five inches in diameter, a stupendous haul. They had been packed carefully into a padded case that Irvine carried on his back like a backpack. Everyone knew how important those crystals were.

The abrupt sound of gunfire jolted them into action. They all dove for cover behind a jumble of rocks, desperately trying to figure out who was firing on them. Several soldiers in nondescript black uniforms had taken positions on the stairs. There was nothing on them to identify whose army they belonged to. How had they gotten here without an airship? Zell cursed. The Ragnorok! He had no doubt that some of them had taken over the Ragnorok. Only a complete idiot wouldn't leave troops behind to guard a vehicle like that.

"SeeD. Surrender and you will not be harmed," shouted one, obviously the man in charge. "We want whatever evidence you might have obtained here. Hand it over and we'll let you go."

Evidence? Evidence of Chimera's existence? Zell started swearing. He didn't need a uniform to figure out who they were working for. He had no idea what Galbadian Special Operations was doing here but if they were looking for evidence, Zell was not inclined to co-operate. Now he realized what had been bugging him. Talos Natok had been too quiet, he should have realized that Typhon's bastards would be up to no good. They had created Chimera in the first place, in fact, Zell was willing to bet that was why they were here; they wanted to eliminate any evidence that they had had a hand in her creation. That way, if she nearly wiped out humanity there wouldn't be any proof that it was their fault. The likelihood that they would let anyone just go was very slim.

"Go to hell," shouted Irvine, punctuating his response with his rifle. Ducking behind a rock, he reloaded. "What the heck are they on about?" he asked. He fired a couple more shots at the enemy.

"Special Ops, I bet. Natok sent goons here to get rid of evidence that they created Chimera," Zell explained. He ducked as the soldiers continued firing. "What are we going to do?" he asked as he got off a firaga spell at them.

Iris held a grenade in her hand and pulled the pin. "This!" She threw the grenade towards the soldiers before Zell could utter a single word of protest. A grenade? What if that thing brought the entire roof down on their heads?

The blast sent several of the enemy flying, killing a couple. Several more scrambled into the room. Zell wondered how many of them there were and began to fear that the four of them would have to fight their way up the entire way to the Ragnorok. He didn't really like the odds. Irvine and Iris were both firing their weapons and Selphie was casting ice magic on them. Zell decided that perhaps a GF or two might be in order.

Selphie cried out and jerked backward, falling to the floor. Irvine whirled towards her and Zell grabbed his rifle from him. He trusted Irvine to look after their tiny teammate. Getting off a couple of wild shots, he glanced towards her. She had been shot in the shoulder. Pasty and pale, she didn't look good at all. Irvine was casting healing magic on her in an attempt to get ahead of shock. Iris ducked, narrowly avoiding getting shot herself, then retaliated with several more grenades. Irvine made a motion with his hand and Zell tossed him back his rifle.

Selphie looked pale but her injury was gone. "Can you fight?" Zell asked her. Selphie nodded and proved her point by casting a volley of Meteor on the enemy. Several more fell but even more seemed to pour out of the hallway. They were swarming into the room like bugs. Zell was beginning to get angry. He called out for Ifrit, hoping to get rid of the whole lot of them at the same time.

Zell waited and waited for Ifrit to appear but he wasn't coming. Zell couldn't understand it, he had always gotten along with him and their compatibility was very high. So where was he? Gunfire and shattering rock made Zell crouch even further. They were so badly outnumbered that if Ifrit didn't come soon, there would be no point in him coming at all. The roar of thunder and the crack of lightning nearly deafened everyone. The closed space made the sound nearly shake the cavern to pieces. Spiraling majestically out of a bolt of lightning was Quezacotl. Zell was utterly confused. Had he summoned Quezacotl by accident? No, he thought, he was very sure that he had summoned Ifrit. 

The feathered serpent seemed larger, brighter and more… there somehow. Zell suddenly noticed the after-image that seemed to linger just behind Quezacotl's every move. He'd never looked like that before. First Quezacotl appears instead of Ifrit and now he looks different. What the heck was going on?

Quezacotl threw back his head and struck down the Galbadian soldiers with an arc of lightning the likes of which Zell had never seen before. The light was so bright that even closing his eyes was no protection. Between the incredible sound and painful light, Zell thought that his head was going to explode. And then the light and sound were gone. So were the soldiers. Only eerie shadows on the wall marked where they had once been.

Instead of vanishing though, Quezacotl turned to face the young SeeD. Spreading his huge wings, he started to speak in a sibilant voice. "Thou art summoned to my lord's presence. Come and obey." 

*** *** ***


	4. Default Chapter Title

****

FF8: The Saviours - Part Four

by Astarte

The government was immobilized when it should have been combating Chimera. Instead of doing something about a potential threat to security, the Council of Galbadia was engaged in internecine warfare.

Richard Caraway had been blocked at every turn by the councilors who had been placed there by Alexandros Typhon. Even though the man was dead, his impact was not. Special Operations had just enough supporters to make getting anything done next to impossible. At Natok's urging they had also taken every opportunity possible to deny Chimera's existence. Talos Natok had been desperately afraid of what would happen if it was discovered that Chimera was an SO project gone amuck. At best their budget would be slashed, at worst Special Operations would lose its powers. If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before Special Operations would be the subject of a Federal Inquiry. A Federal Inquiry would find a lot of things Talos Natok rather they didn't know about. Natok had been successful, however, of keeping Chimera's existence in question and assaulting his rival's credibility. It had looked as though General Richard Caraway was well on his way to being ruined. People were beginning to doubt his competence.

Chimera utterly destroyed Natok's plans. It is one thing to cover up individual murders, it is entirely another thing to try and cover up an entire town being depopulated. Sheyd was dead, completely emptied of human life. Special Operations had sent in soldiers, organized road blocks, and publicly stated that an outbreak of disease was being contained there. They had arrested and summarily shot the handful of people who had discovered the emptied town. Wearing heavy duty contamination gear and masquerading as the CDC, they were able to frighten away everyone. Everyone that is, except one reporter from Timber by the name of Bryt Ajel.

Bryt Ajel had spent years covering the second sorceress war and had developed an instinct for cover-ups and government scandals. He didn't believe one word of the official story given by the government. Inside sources had told him, on condition of anonymity, that the orders had come directly from the Special Operations branch of the government, from General Talos Natok himself. They couldn't tell Bryt more but he didn't need any more. The Center for Disease Control wasn't even remotely associated with the military. Natok would not have been able to order them to tie their laces, much less order them to take charge of a site.

During the last war, he'd seen the kind of thing that Special Operations was capable of, they had raised nastiness to a fine art. Bryt had filmed their soldiers overrun entire towns at Sorceress Edea's command. After seeing a handful of young SeeD mercenaries liberate Fisherman's Horizon, he'd gone from being suspicious of the mercenary organization to a supporter. After all, he'd not seen anyone else lift a finger to stop Galbadia. His editorials on the matter had been scathingly critical of the Galbadian government.

Bryt Ajel had crept into the town, sheltered by trees and the night sky. Carefully, he'd surveyed the town and found no-one except Special Operations operatives. There were no sick patients, no bodies, no doctors or medical staff, nothing. There was not even any evidence of a violent struggle or insurrection here. An empty town however was not evidence of a conspiracy. The dead could already have been removed. Bryt began to worry that something virulent might really have been released here and he began to sweat in fear that he might have exposed himself to something deadly. If it was true and the town was contaminated, he could not leave.

It was sheer luck that he saw a pair of men in contamination gear take off their helmets and joke with each other. Taking as many photos as he dared, Bryt couldn't believe his luck. Soldiers did not just casually take off their protective gear in a town contaminated by a lethal virus. Whatever had happened here, a virus had not done it.

Bryt decided that it was time to get out and quietly tried to make his way out of town. It was dark however, with the moon nearly new, a thin sliver in the sky. He made a wrong turn and suddenly found himself near a graveyard. Behind him, he could hear a commotion. The sound of gunfire and screams.

Fear propelled Bryt into action. An old mausoleum stood nearby, a hiding place he thought. Pulling open the door, he quickly but quietly closed it behind him. Looking at the silent tomb, he hoped the occupant didn't mind a little company. The sounds were getting closer. More gunfire, screams, and a weird humming noise that Bryt couldn't identify. Clutching his camera tightly, he pulled out his transmitting gear out of a pouch strapped close to his chest. He quickly connected the transmitting equipment to his camera and downloaded the images he already had collected. Programming the equipment to regularly transmit images to the server at work, he opened the door a crack. Something was going on.

The entire area was flooded with eerie green light. In the distance he could see a writhing pillar of green moving towards the town. Bryt took shot after shot, capturing the strange phenomenon as it approached Sheyd. He heard more gunfire and the sounds were coming closer. Bryt could see the headlights of trucks leaving at breakneck speed and he tried to capture as much as he could.

Looking through the lens, he zoomed in on the strange writhing green light, focusing on the strange shape that he could just barely see with the naked eye. It was a human form, definitely a woman. Bryt opened the door a crack more, determined to get as good a shot as possible. 

He could actually see the soldiers running away now, occasionally pausing to fire at the woman in the pillar of green fire. He was taking pictures so rapidly that one could see her raise her arm and the green fire lash out in a strange stop-motion kind of way. Bryt was stunned to see the men turn to ash at the slightest touch of the green stuff. Supernatural fire he thought as he took another shot. A sorceress, maybe? At least he knew what had happened to the people of Sheyd.

This strange woman had killed them all and the Galbadian government was trying to cover it all up. He filmed her reaching out and obliterating a retreating truck. Bryt wondered if he'd get out of here alive, this woman seemed expert at killing people. This couldn't stay buried, people had to know. His editor, Tak, had been a fabulous writer in his day. He'd know what to do with the footage as soon as he saw it.

Single minded devotion to his lifelong passion made him open the door. Bryt snuck up as closely as he could, trying to get as good a shot of what was happening as possible. He knew the insane risk he was taking but it had always been a part of the job. It was a risk every war photographer took when they accepted the job.

He got an excellent shot of the strange woman. She was young, barely seventeen in appearance, and very beautiful. Her hair had been coloured in shades of blue, red, violet and green and it was moving as though it was alive. Black body armour seemed more a part of her than something she wore. She looked down at him. The camera just loved her. She had the most gorgeous eyes, angry eyes.

"Insects. No sooner do I cleanse a place than you all return." She moved as though to raise her arm. Bryt waited to die.

Something appeared in the space between them. A huge demon, the colour of blood and lost souls, he hovered there his massive wings outstretched in a menacing way. A strange after-image seemed to follow his every movement. Untold numbers of shadowy forms hovered in attendance. Diablo, spawn of hell.

He made a commanding gesture, his entire manner indicating that he expected immediate and unquestioning obedience.

"Thou art summoned to my lord's presence. Come and obey."

They disappeared.

Bryt couldn't believe what he had seen and hoped he'd remembered to continue taking shots. He couldn't quite recall if he had. Walking away shakily, he found his way back to where he'd hidden his car. It was about ten minutes before he could stop shaking enough to put the keys in the ignition.

The story appeared on the newscasts the next morning. Suddenly vindicated, Caraway was able to sway the Council in his favour. President Maraj declared the state of emergency and put Caraway in charge of the military. By Presidential Order, Special Operations was immediately stripped of all power and Talos Natok was forced to resign. Richard Caraway smugly noted a memo that crossed his desk a week later. It seemed that even the supporters of Special Operations thought that a Federal Inquiry was in order.

What had happened to Chimera was unknown.

*** *** ***

He was nowhere, lost in an utterly perfect void. Here, nothing was not merely an idea but a concrete reality. Zell had never thought that nothing could have weight but the sheer absence of anything, even light and sound, seemed like a pressure bearing down on him. Distance, direction, time, everything that he had come to accept as inevitable facts of life had been taken from him.

At first it was not that bad. In fact, it was kind of pleasant and relaxing, not unlike a nice warm bath. After a while though, he began to feel differently about it. He had never appreciated the everyday experiences of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste but now that he had been deprived of them, he started to miss them. Gradually, the weight of nothing became increasingly unbearable and he began to realize how much human beings really depended on their senses. Now he had none and it began to feel nightmarish.

The absolute worst was that he could not even feel his own flesh, his clothing. He didn't feel anything. Humans weren't meant for this, they were too trapped in their own bodies to endure whatever this place was. Zell tried to get control of himself but it was hard. The isolation made self control difficult. 

Quezacotl had brought them all here and vanished, at least Zell thought that he had brought the others. He had no idea if the others were here. He wouldn't have known it if they had been standing right next to him. Zell began to worry about his friends. What was happening to them, he wondered. Were they here, experiencing this hell of nothing? Were they still in the cavern? He began having horrible visions of Iris lying injured on the floor, shot and bleeding with no-one to save her. What about Irvine and Selphie? He didn't know if they were alright or if they were hurt, maybe dying.

He wondered how long he'd been here. It seemed like he had always been here but he could not be sure. Time, like everything else, had no place here. Zell did not know if he had been here a minute, or years. Had he been forgotten? An ugly thought seeped into his mind, an idea he didn't want to think about. Was he dead? Zell wanted to run, to find his friends, any company at all, but he could not even feel his own body. He was unable to tell if he was getting anywhere at all.

Tiny pangs of fear started crawling around in his stomach. He was completely, unequivocally alone. He had never appreciated the concept before, the idea of alone. Nobody to talk to, joke with, spar with. There was no one except him and his mind was beginning to dwell on morbid thoughts that he didn't want to deal with. Here in the face of the complete absence of everything, he began to doubt his own existence. Perhaps he had died in the battle and this was where the dead went. Perhaps he was only someone's dream. He opened his mouth to shout, cry out for his friends, but heard nothing, not even the sound of his own heartbeat.

Alone. Utterly alone.

Had the Guardian Forces betrayed them? Another sliver of doubt. Did they exist at all? Perhaps he was insane or in a coma. Perhaps he had just imagined the last two years, after all, it was after graduation that things had gotten strange. Could he have imagined graduation, the timber mission, the assassination attempt, everything? He could be lying in a hospital bed somewhere, in a coma. Zell became angry. This was stupid! He was angry at the GFs for bringing him here, angrier at himself for letting sensory deprivation drive him to the edge of madness.

"Do not fear."

The sudden introduction of words seemed to cascade through the place, destroying the purity of nothing and imposing on it all the sensations of existence that Zell had so desperately missed. The place was still dark and unformed but he could see his friends. He was actually surprised to see Squall, Quistis and Rinoa there as well. They didn't look very good and Zell doubted that he looked much better. Their faces were all pale, their eyes slightly wild, and they looked very shaky. The absolute joy on their faces told him that they had been suffering the same sensory deprivation that he had. Zell wondered if they had begun to question their own existence too. They turned to look at the owner of the voice, the voice that had restored reality and quite likely saved their sanity.

It was Siren. She was not that different than he was used to seeing her but she had such a sheer presence, such intense reality, that Zell could not bear looking at her for long. She possessed a horrible beauty, one that humans could never feel comfortable looking at. Siren glided past, hanging upside down in complete violation of gravity, trailed by an eerie after-image. Her expression was undecipherable.

"Welcome," Siren sang.

"Uh, thank you," answered Rinoa timidly. She had a quizzical expression on her face. "Are you the lord that Shiva told us about?"

Siren's laughter rippled outward, sending temporary colour into the place they were in. Her expression was amused. "Nay, I only greet you. I am not the Lord of this place. I am unworthy of such a burden as that." She glided close to Rinoa, who actually shied away from the unearthly being.

"Greetings, bearer of Hyne's gift."

Rinoa's expression was startled but she surprised Zell by curtsying with incredible grace. Perhaps being an important general's daughter had actually taught her a thing or two. He guessed that she'd been exposed to important people her entire life.

Siren acknowledged Rinoa's courtesy with a nod. She made an encompassing gesture at the place they were in. "We stand in the junction of realities, where all the spaces meet. I apologize for any distress that you suffered." She glided towards them, ending up at a right angle to the rest of them. She had turned her attention to Irvine. "Sadly, I have not the leisure to converse with thee. I have a task to perform." 

Her entire manner changed and she became suddenly intimidating. Lifting Irvine's chin with delicate fingers, her expression was deadly serious. Zell, afraid for a reason he didn't know, wanted to rush to his friend's defense but found himself rooted to the ground. He wished that someone would tell him what was going on.

"Do you believe in evil?" she asked. Her voice had a casual tone but she did not look casual at all. She looked terrifyingly like a goddess of death. Irvine opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. His expression was faintly confused. "I'm not sure." He shrugged finally. 

Siren shook her head sternly. "Not good enough, young Kinneas. If you cannot be decisive, there is no hope for you." She put her face close to his, almost nose to nose, causing Irvine to involuntarily try to back away. She seemed to glow brightly. "You must answer. You must take a stand."

Irvine reacted angrily to her reprimand. Zell knew how sensitive he was about accusations of indecision. Irvine still felt bad about letting Squall down in the clock tower. "Yes," he nearly shouted. Irvine's fists were balled but he hung his head down, Zell wasn't sure if it was out of shame or if he was deep in thought. "After fighting Ultimecia, I can say that, I guess. Trying to compress time and kill everything, possessing Matron, chasing down Ellone like an animal because of what? We never even knew. I guess it doesn't matter." He looked up at Siren. "So yes, I believe that evil exists." 

Siren's smile was breathtaking and she kissed Irvine's forehead in benediction. Siren disappeared only to stand in front of Squall. With a seemingly gentle expression, she stroked his cheek. Her expression then changed abruptly and became forbidding. She tilted her head, one way then the next, regarding him thoughtfully.

"Why live? What is it to you?" She asked. Siren's eyes narrowed, her musical voice carried ominous undertones. Zell wondered what would happen if his friend gave the wrong answer. Squall's face had a defiant look on it but it was thoughtful as well. If anyone could think up a good answer to that question it would be Squall. Zell was glad he didn't have to answer it.

It seemed like an eternity before Squall responded. "Its all we have. Its all we ever have. What else is there? I don't know so I have to believe life is all there is." Squall's eyes were frosty. "Its my right to live." Siren smiled and Zell let out a breath that he'd forgotten he'd been holding. It sounded as if it was something that Squall had been thinking about before. Zell snorted. Squall spent way too much time thinking sometimes.

She cocked her head to one side. "Interesting," she made wide sweeping gesture and turned away. Fascinated by the after-images that trailed behind her, Zell didn't really notice where she was going. He was not happy when he realized that she was now facing him, her eyes had that deadly look in them again. He began to sweat. "What if I disagree? Prove to me that it is your right. Tell me why you should live."

Prove? Oh man, he thought in desperation. How did you prove something like that? What was it that Siren wanted to hear? Taking a deep breath, he tried to figure out what it was she was really asking. Why should we live. We? Which we was she talking about, that was the first thing. Considering what had been going on, he suspected that Siren meant humanity. So, how do you prove that humans have that right. Not just claim it was so but prove it. Squall could have answered this, Zell thought frantically. What was the right answer? Then it hit him.

"If someone gives you a present, its yours. Hyne gave humans life. That's a present. So life is ours by right. Not yours, not Chimera's. Ours." It sounded rather childish to Zell, as if it should be completed by pouting or foot stomping. It worked however. Siren smiled.

"A present," she murmured in amusement. Shaking her head, she patted his cheek. It was the most wonderfully soft sensation. Zell would have died for another touch. He felt like a little kid again, revelling in his parents' praise.

Siren drifted upward, a short distance away, and raised her hands and face upward in supplication.

"Sire, Lord of The Firstborn, I have judged them and found them worthy."

A sound unlike any Zell had ever experienced filled the air. A tiny dot of light appeared in the distance, hesitated a moment and exploded outward in a violent display of colour and glory. The nothingness was shattered by the first wave of light that stormed over them, nearly knocking them off their feet. Colours of every description, even some there was no name for, burst into existence. It was like watching the birth of a universe. After the first wave had subsided, they found themselves standing in a place of indescribable beauty. It was like every perfect garden ever conceived made reality, every perfect daydream given expression. The air was perfumed with scents that made him feel refreshed and the warm light that bathed everything made him feel like home.

Riding on the second wave, they came. One after the other, the Guardians came to the paradise that had appeared around them. Here in this place, they were all things of glory and awe, even the comical Cactuar and Tonberry were awe-inspiring. Doomtrain and Diablo appeared together, the demon idly petting one of Cerberus' heads. The Brothers appeared next, accompanied by Pandemona, then Ifrit and Quezacotl. Leviathan burst into view, carrying the beautiful Shiva on his back and Siren went to greet her friends. Cactuar and Tonberry appeared simultaneously, chattering with each other. Alexander rumbled into view, led by the diminutive Carbuncle.

Towering over them all was the immense form of Bahamut. His outstretched wings extended beyond the limit of Zell's sight. His eyes swirled with the fire of a thousand galaxies and his claws could have crushed a world. The incomprehensible Eden hovered over his huge right shoulder. The magnificent Phoenix was perched on his left. Here was the Lord who had summoned them. For the rest of his life, Zell would not be able to adequately describe his majesty.

"I am Bahamut, Lord of The Firstborn, whom you know as the Guardian Forces." The voice of the great dragon echoed throughout the place, vibrating through their souls.

"Welcome, Secondborn, to my domain."

*** *** ***

She was nowhere, trapped in a void of darkness. It was a place where her own senses were useless. It was a place where nothing, not even she, had concrete reality. Try as she might, she could not find any hint of distance, direction or time. Nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to feel, taste or touch. Absolute and true nothing. It felt familiar.

Numbed silence, obliteration of existence, it felt as though her senses had been packed in wool or even torn from her completely. No awareness of time or self, all that she had were her own thoughts to keep her company. Alone was an idea that she was used to and it held no horror for her. She had endured this before and she could endure it again. Twenty years encased in crystal had meant nothing. This meant nothing either. She was used to alone, all that she had ever had was herself.

Chimera had learned patience. She let herself become a part of the nothing, instead of fighting against it, she let herself merge with it. She found a still and silent place within her, a place that was a refuge from anxious thoughts and driven needs. Slowly she became aware of a sound, barely discernable, low, strange, like the sound of millions of wings beating in unison, heard from hundreds of miles away. Sinking deeper within herself and the nothing, she heard more. Haunting sounds, like that which the singers of the deep sang, filled her head. Within the sounds she could hear the murmur of billions of voices. The strange symphony of sounds was faint but seemed to flow like a river around, over, under and through her. What it was though, she had no idea.

Sinking even further, she heard just at the furthest edges of her strained senses, a song. The gender of the voice was indistinct, sometimes male, other times female, sometimes both and occasionally neither. The voice was singing a song so incredibly complex, made up of so many levels of harmony, that it was beyond comprehension. The voice was utter and complete beauty, vibrant perfection. Chimera yearned to find the singer of that song. But the singer was so far away, in body, mind and spirit, that she knew that she could never find the place that singer dwelled.

It was like a pain, stabbing at her heart. She could hear the song but was denied, thwarted and cheated from ever approaching the being whose voice was threaded throughout all the levels of the universe. She tried running towards the singer but the harder she tried to approach the further away she seemed to get. Finally, Chimera could no longer hear the song. Crying out in agony, she wept at the loss. She had lost something, something vital and precious, and did not know how to regain it. She did not even know what she had lost but mourned it anyway.

Was this what Diablo had sent her to? Abandonment and denial? She had felt a compulsion to obey him that she didn't understand. All that she knew was that a fundamental part of her soul had instinctively responded to the summons. If it had only been Diablo's desire, she would have ignored him but the summons had been from one whom she respected and so she had come. All she found though was this place of empty longings.

"Do not despair".

The sudden introduction of words seemed to cascade through the place, destroying the nothing and restoring all the sensations of existence that Chimera had been denied. It was still dark and formless but she sensed that she was no longer alone. Oddly, the idea provided comfort.

Clicking, the sound of iron-shod hooves on gravel, was the first sound that signaled the approach of her new companion. Perplexed by the rhythmic sound she tried to locate the owner. Then she saw him. He was coming towards her on a spiraling path that she could not see. Approaching her, mounted upon the strange six-legged horse, Sleipnir, was the ultimate warrior of warriors: Odin. She stared at him in mute amazement as his massive mount reared up, its powerful hooves slashing the air only inches from her face.

"You cannot be here," she flatly stated to the being who stood in tangible defiance of her words. "I read the reports. You are dead."

Odin laughed, partially in amusement and partially in contempt. "A fine greeting, child." Another laugh. Dismounting, he casually patted Sleipnir's flank who nickered appreciatively. "The boy was clever enough to reflect my own attack back at me, I admit." Standing before her, she realized how tall he was. She was nearly six feet in height and he towered over her. He held a huge spear in his hand. "None who have died are beyond the reach of the Phoenix."

Chimera pointed at the spear in fascination. She had heard that Odin possessed a sword, she was unaware of any spears. "What happened to your sword?" she asked, ravenously curious.

Odin smiled. "One known as Gilgamesh possesses it now. It gives him the freedom to leave his prison and so I let him keep it. My old companion, Gungnir, is the superior weapon in any case."

Striding to his horse, he mounted once more and reached out his hand to her. "Come."

Suddenly, Chimera felt shy. Confused at her own reaction, she shook her head. Odin smiled at her. "I've yet to meet a young woman who is not fond of a horse. Come."

Shocked by her own behavior, she took his hand and he pulled her up in front of him. She was uncomfortably aware of their proximity, how her back was pressed to his chest. Her entire body was electric in reaction to his closeness and her heart was pounding. She was horrified to see that her hands were shaking and she grabbed a handful of Sleipnir's mane, hoping to steady herself. Panicked confusion was making her lightheaded. What was happening to her?

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the rhythm of Sleipnir's stride, desperately trying to comprehend her inexplicable reaction. She had never felt this way before. Was she ill? Was it this place? Why did her whole body feel as though it had been struck by lightning whenever they touched? She didn't understand.

His arm accidentally brushed hers and her entire body thrummed in response. Electric tingling surged through her body. Abject terror made her launch herself into the darkness. Suspended in the nothing, she hugged herself, crying and confused. What was wrong with her? The darkness soothed her, she was alone again. Safe.

"Is anger the only emotion with which you are comfortable?" Odin asked sadly out of nowhere, appearing beside her. His expression was filled with pity. "You seem to prefer your empty darkness to anything else." He raised her chin, looking her in the eyes. "Is this why you are so determined to commit genocide?"

She pulled away, angry. Her body was tensed for battle, a comfortingly familiar sensation. "I fulfil my mission because I must protect Galbadia from all harm. Humans are a threat because of their consistently irresponsible destruction of the environment they live in. They kill each other for the most pathetic of reasons. How can you wonder why?"

Odin sneered and stalked around her, saying, "All harm? Child, are you delusional?" He waved his hand in a wide gesture. The image of a world wavered into view. Storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and worse drifted into, and out, of view. "Nature itself endangers your Galbadia. Do you propose to halt earthquakes and volcanoes, hurricanes and tsunami?" The image faded away and Odin shook his head. "What about meteor strikes and the death of the star itself?"

Chimera grew angrier and snarled, animal like. He was making fun of her! Did he think that she was stupid or gullible? Of course she could not stop the destructive forces of nature, it was not possible. It had nothing whatsoever to do with her mission, nature was not the enemy, it was merely a vehicle of change. His argument was ludicrous. 

"Is it? You cannot hear Hyne's song because you insist in deceiving yourself. Hyne is truth and as long as you believe your own lies, you cannot approach." Odin turned away and walked to Sleipnir. 

"How dare you accuse me of lies. I do not lie," she shouted in anger. She was shaking with emotion. She had never lied in her life, she had never needed to. She knew why she was doing what she was, she didn't need to deceive herself. It was her purpose, one that even the scientists who had created her would have acknowledged. It was Odin who was deceiving himself.

Odin turned towards her, holding his spear at the ready. Slowly he shook his head. "If a human had told you this, you would have killed him instantly, enraged at the insult. I, however," he said with a mocking voice, "seem to have evaded your wrath."

"I am not the one who is deceiving myself, child," Odin said as he swung himself onto Sleipnir's back. He was getting ready to leave, Chimera realized.

No, she thought in sudden anxious fear. She didn't want him to go. She wasn't exactly sure why but she wanted him to stay. Was it true, she wondered. Was she lying to herself? Thinking about it, she realized that she was. Always in the back of her mind, was the one thought: They created me. It was always there, it always made her angry. They had made her to be a weapon, a tool, a commercial product. They hadn't cared about her, they hadn't loved her, they hadn't wanted her. All that they had wanted was something that could fight and die for them so that they would not have to. She had been created to be cannon fodder, a slave.

"I hate them," she shouted her admission as he got ready to leave. "I hate them and I want them to die because anything that would create something like me doesn't deserve to live!" She raised her hand, talons extended. She hissed in anger as she contemplated her weaponry. "They didn't think I was a person. They thought I was something you could send in to die and it wouldn't matter. They thought I was something that you could buy and sell." She looked Odin in the eyes, her hate filling her soul. "I want revenge for having ever been born. I will not let mankind have Galbadia. Its mine, not theirs. They don't appreciate anything that they have and so I take it from them." She smiled an angry smile. "The kind few do not balance the vile majority. I will kill them. That is the truth."

Odin stopped and turned Sleipnir towards her. He regarded her thoughtfully. "Yes. It is." He stretched his hand out to her. "Come. Bahamut will see you know." She reluctantly took his hand and once more he pulled her up onto Sleipnir's back. She was so delighted to hear Hyne's song once more, faint as it was, that she was able to ignore the disturbing sensations she felt at his closeness.

"I can hear!" she exclaimed. It was an indescribable relief for a reason she did not know. All that she was sure of was that she could not have been able to bear being forever separated from the song.

Odin seemed amused. "Yes, Hyne makes no judgement but truth is something that is required of the Firstborn." Odin urged Sleipnir on.

The great horse ran. Sparks and fire flew whenever a hoof hit the strange pathways that she could not see. They were riding towards a distant light. As they approached it, the light suddenly leapt out towards them in a violent display of colour. Colours of every description, even some there was no name for, burst into existence. They suddenly found themselves standing in a place of indescribable beauty. Chimera thought that it was like every perfect garden ever conceived made reality, every perfect daydream given expression. The air was perfumed with scents that made her feel refreshed and the warm light that bathed everything soothed her tortured soul.

She found herself in the midst of the Guardian forces. She even noticed the presence of some humans, SeeD she realized as she recognized the blond Zell Dincht. This place made her feel so good that she didn't mind their presence, she least of all minded Zell's. She saw the monumental lord of the Guardian Forces: Bahamut.

He was not as she had expected him to be, he was the definition of grandeur. He towered over everyone like a mountain range and his outstretched wings extended beyond the limit of her vision. She could see the fire of a thousand galaxies swirling in his eyes and his claws seemed surprisingly like her own. She could see Eden hovered over his huge right shoulder and the Phoenix was perched on his left. She felt like she was face to face with her father.

"I welcome you, my child. I am Bahamut, Lord of The Firstborn."

*** *** ***

Zell would rather have been elsewhere. However beautiful the home of the Guardian Forces was, it was not a place where he felt completely comfortable. The utter perfection of his surroundings made him feel clumsy and dull, like the crudely carved wooden doll he had once made for another child. It had been rather shapeless, he remembered, just having only the barest resemblance of a human being. 

Having a rather lopsided head and an abnormally long tube of a body, he remembered making the doll out of a big stick. He had carefully drilled a hole through the sides of the top and bottom, using an archaic manual drill that he'd "borrowed" from someone or another. He also remembered pushing braided wool through those holes to serve as arms and legs.

The doll he remembered making but he couldn't quite remember where or why. It had probably been during his time at the orphanage. He found that if he really tried hard to remember, he could often recall details but not always. Sometimes the memories were too old, or too painful, or just not strong enough for him to hang onto. He just knew that someone had needed that ugly doll and now he felt exactly like it: malformed, crude and badly constructed.

Quistis smiled at him, shaking her head. "I remember that doll. You made it for me because you were leaving and I was upset and didn't want you to go." Quistis' eyes were unfocused as she stared off into the past, her arms folded across her chest. "I kept it, even after I'd forgotten why." She looked at him fondly. "I still have that little doll." She reached out and touched his shoulder in gratitude.

Zell looked at her, confused. How had she known what he was thinking? He hadn't said anything out loud. He favoured Bahamut with a suspicious glare. "How did she know what I was thinking about?"

The great dragon peered at him with one swirling eye. Zell watched stars flare into existence bright and blue, born from the glorious embers of their predecessors. For a split second, as he watched the universe that lived in Bahamut's eyes, he almost heard something. It vanished before he could even understand what it was he had come so close to hearing. 

"You do not understand why?" The great dragon rumbled softly. The Phoenix suddenly flexed its fiery wings, showering everything with sunset colours. Its mourning cry was piercing and made Zell's bones hurt. "How sad." Bahamut said.

Eden hovered low, even stranger now than it had been on those occasions when Zell had summoned it. He wondered exactly what it was that Eden was supposed to be. It wasn't exactly like a monster, it wasn't exactly like a Garden, it wasn't exactly like a lot of things. Confusion was becoming a familiar feeling for Zell.

Eden spoke with a woman's voice, soft and sounding very distant. "I am Tomorrow," she said simply as though that would explain everything. "There are no shadows here, entropy holds no power. All that is true becomes truer, the lies fade. You become yourself, essence laid bare." She drifted upward, resuming her previous post. "Destiny. Choice. Regret. Hope. Loss. Renewal. Pain. Desire," she chanted, eerily distant, sounding incredibly far away. "The infinite power of the infinitesimal. The ultimate power of that which is yet to be."

Zell tried to understand what she was saying, but most of her meaning escaped him. He assumed that part of what Eden had said meant that this place made them able to hear each other's thoughts. He didn't hear anyone's thoughts at all, even when he strained to hear, it was silent. Eden was continuing her bizarre chant, saying things that made no sense to him. Her chanting was comforting, in its own equally strange way. He didn't understand it but he suspected that there was no way that he could ever could. She was talking to him from very far away.

Squall had stepped forward. He had that stony grim expression that he always had when he was serious. Squall's afraid, Zell sudden realized, it was an idea that had never occurred to Zell before. Squall had never seemed like the sort to be afraid. He was trying to anticipate what would happen next and was worried that he was overlooking something important. He was afraid that he might lose Rinoa, that it was a terrifying thought that always occupied a part of Squall's mind. He was trying very hard to do what was expected of a leader and worrying that he would make a mistake. Zell couldn't understand how he knew, there were no voices in his head like the novels said there should be, he just knew.

"Why are we here?" Squall had asked.

"Why do you think?" responded Bahamut.

Rinoa smiled up at the great dragon. She was afraid too, like Squall, but her reasons were different. She was afraid of being forced to fight. Partially it was because she did not trust her own fighting ability but mostly, Rinoa was afraid of her own power. She was angry at Edea and so ashamed of it that she tried to deny it, pretend that the feelings weren't there. She loved the kindly woman but hated her too for giving her the power. The shame, anger and fear made her desperately want Bahamut to take care of everything, to fix it so she would not have to admit that she was a sorceress, so she could pretend that she was normal.

"Because you want to help us fight Chimera?" asked Rinoa hopefully.

"Are you sure?" countered Bahamut.

Squall looked slightly frustrated but kept his cool. Squall had enough diplomacy to keep his voice calm but he couldn't quite keep the edge out of it. He abruptly looked at Zell, a peculiar expression flashing onto his face. Zell wondered what it was that Squall had seen. 

"If you don't want to help then what do you want?" Squall demanded to know.

"What does any being want?" asked Bahamut.

Zell was getting annoyed. Bahamut seemed to answer every question with another question and it was beginning to get on his nerves. If he wanted to say something why couldn't he just say it? Why be irritating about it? He was about to say something when, for once, common sense kicked in before his mouth could open. No, Zell decided, recalling the strange test that they'd undergone, perhaps this was another test. Even if it wasn't, he had to assume that shouting at a demigod was not the greatest of ideas.

Be professional, we're not just representing SeeD now, we represent everyone. I believe in you. Startled, he realized that the thought had come directly from Iris. Not something that he heard but an idea that was just there, fully formed in his mind. A thought that belonged to Iris. Looking at her, he returned her smile. Her smile was sheer glory. He suddenly wondered how he could ever have thought that Chimera was prettier.

Bahamut abruptly turned his attention elsewhere. Looking in that direction, Zell was very surprised to see Odin -- wasn't he dead?! -- and Chimera approaching in the distance. The fact that she was here as well made Zell nervous. Looking at Bahamut, he realized that he just didn't quite trust any of them any more. He wondered if he would ever really be able to depend on them, ever again.

"I welcome you, my child. I am Bahamut, Lord of The Firstborn," Bahamut said.

Chimera had a bright worshipful smile for the great dragon, something that made Zell even more uncomfortable. That odd emotionless expression was gone, the coolness that he'd seen in her before was now replaced by the kind of adoration that seemed to always exist between a young girl and her father. Zell did not like this at all.

The cold mask fell over her face as she regarded them. That chilling, predatory smile crossed her face as she spoke. "Greetings, Zell Dincht." Zell was almost relieved. This was more like the woman he'd met in the library, cold and professional. Zell felt a sense of familiarity in it. He even waved to her in greeting. Realizing what he was doing, Zell jerked his hand back to his side, wondering if he'd gone insane. This place had to be getting to him, he thought to himself.

Just as Zell turned his head to try to speak to Iris, he noticed something, something different about Chimera. Just out of the corner of his eyes, he could see a slight disturbance but the moment he tried to look at her head on, it disappeared. Straining to see without actually looking at her, Zell could just see the vague outlines of what appeared to be wings. It was very hard to tell though since every time his head turned towards her, the image vanished. His eyes were beginning to hurt but he was almost positive that he was seeing the beginnings of wings. He wondered what they would look like.

"Why have you brought me here?" Chimera asked.

Bahamut seemed distinctly amused. "My human, Leonheart, has already asked me this. I am surprised that you do not know." The great dragon arched his wings and roared. "Can you not see?"

Eden broke off her strange chanting. "She is still Yesterday. She is not yet Today."

"Ahh," rumbled Bahamut apparently understanding the strange Eden perfectly well. "Then I will tell you all." He bent down, his huge head dwarfing Squall. Zell was impressed to see that Squall didn't even flinch. He was stubbornly holding his position, determined not to show weakness or fear. There was no way that he would back down from a challenge and he was determined not to let this place make him feel small or insignificant. Zell took strength from that. If Squall could do it, so could he.

"Humans created Chimera, they must do what is right. Fail and you fight her alone."

Zell gulped. "How alone, exactly?" He was afraid and he didn't mind if all his friends knew it. He wondered how much of their fear had mingled with his. The Guardian Forces seemed to be siding with Chimera and he didn't want to hear more. Alone sounded very ominous, it seemed to echo in his head. 

Bahamut regarded him. "Alone. I will forbid all in my domain from aiding you in any manner." The great dragon tilted its head. "I have sided with no-one yet. Humans have yet to prove their worthiness." He rustled his huge wings, causing stars to fly about like fireflies.

Chimera noted their stunned expressions with apparent satisfaction. "There is little fear that they ever will be worthy as a whole." She tilted her head one way then the other. She seemed far less human than she had been when they had first met. She was more and more like them.

Bahamut's voice was stern. "They may surprise you."

Chimera seemed to flinch slightly at the rebuke but also stood her ground. She looked up at him with utmost confidence. "I doubt it."

*** *** ***


	5. Default Chapter Title

****

FF8: The Saviours - Conclusion

by Astarte

Chimera opened her eyes, feeling disoriented and strange. She was looking up at the sky. Clouds were drifting past, soft and white, sailing through the azure sky like sailing ships navigating an endless ocean. For a few minutes, she watches as they seemed to race against each other, competing for some unimaginable prize. The sun, warm and inviting, shone down on her with generous benevolence. High up in the sky, a small white speck cruised the sky, a sea bird, master of the winds.

When she tried to sit up she was suddenly struck with intense pain. Looking at the source, she noticed that her shoulder looked strange. She had dislocated it. Ignoring the mystery of how it had occurred for the moment, she forced her arm back into place. Searing pain dwindled as her body began to heal the injury. It could not have been that long since she'd dislocated it, bruises still mottled her arm. 

She sat up, feeling oddly heavy and clumsy, as though her body had become unfamiliar with the relentless pull of gravity. Salt air filled her nostrils, the smell of brine and the sea. Warm sand clung to her skin, working its way into her clothing in that mysterious way that sand had. She let a handful of sand flow through her fingertips. It was golden and fine, glittering in the sunlight. It did not smell like Galbadia.

She looked around. The earth around her was awash in rusts, ochres and siennas, standing in stark contrast with the bright blue sky. The soft white clouds cast smoky gray shadows over the landscape which was punctuated by emerald forests, stabbing upward towards the azure sky. In the distance was a lone strange tower, ancient and ravaged by time. It virtually shone with the presence of its owner; Odin's Tower. She was on the ruined Centra Continent.

At first she was confused, unsure how she had gotten here. She strained to remember but at first she was frustrated by her uncooperative memory, but then the events flashed into her mind and she remembered. It had begun with an argument. Everything always began with an argument. That was the way of things.

She had been in the court of Bahamut, face to face with gods. She had been enjoying the frustrated outrage of the human SeeDs, shocked that Bahamut had sided with her. Her pleasure had not lasted long.

Zell had looked at her with an expression she did not like: pity. He had tried to reason with her, he had to persuade her that there had to be another way. She had not been interested in listening. Her mind had been made up twenty years ago. There was nothing that he could say that would change her mind. He seemed to know that but tried anyway.

"Why does it have to be this way?" he had asked, almost pleading with her. "Do you have to act like a robot, doing everything those monsters expect you to?" His outburst had confirmed what she had long suspected, Doctor Echid had been alerted and had gone straight to SeeD.

"Do you deny the truth?" had been her response. "Your species is dangerous."

"Life's dangerous," Irvine had retorted with an exasperated edge to his voice. "That's an invalid argument and you know it. Or," he'd said with a sneering tone, "do you expect me to believe that T-Rexaurs and Malboros are harmless and cuddly?"

After that, it had quickly degenerated into a shouting match, both sides eventually resorted to simply yelling at one another. Looking back with more than a little chagrin, she realized that she had shown no more maturity than they had. The Guardian Forces had simply watched both sides behave like small misbehaving children.

The final blow had come from the human known as Iris. During one long pause, pregnant with anger, she had said the one thing that had enraged Chimera beyond her ability to control herself.

"Chimera, you are human, too." The softness of her tone and the thoughtful expression on her face had been like a slap in Chimera's face. Almost anything else she could have tolerated but not this.

"You and I both know how Dr. Echid created you," Iris had said in a relentless voice that drilled into Chimera's head like a jackhammer. "A genetically engineered human fused with a GF. The operative word is human, Chimera." Iris' face had been tender, inviting, as though she'd wanted nothing more than to make peace, forge a friendship.

It was too much for Chimera to bear. The final insult, one that made her finally strike out in mindless rage. For one split second, she did not care about the consequences.

Humans had the benefit of ignorance but she did not. She had come to Bahamut's court with inherent knowledge. She knew what she could get away with and what she could not. Attacking his guests was not one of them. She did anyway.

Even as her clawed hand had lashed out against the woman, she'd heard Bahamut's roar of outraged anger. She had not cared, not even about that, all that she had wanted to do was tear Iris limb from limb. She had wanted to rip her into tiny globs of quivering flesh, shred that hateful smile from her intolerable face. She had never known hatred so pure or black as what she had felt in those few seconds. It blinded her to any thing else. All that she could see were Iris' frightened eyes.

Much to her surprise, Siren abruptly appeared between her and her prey. Siren had been a terrifying sight, a goddess enraged. The air had been electric around her and power poured from her in waves. Mere inches away from Siren's throat, Chimera's arm was struck by a force that was powerful enough to wrench her arm from its socket. Had it been within Siren's power, she would have killed her on the spot. Only Bahamut's law had prevented it, the very law that Chimera had violated herself.

Reeling in pain from Siren's angry reprisal, Chimera had had the wind knocked out of her when she was tackled from the side. Stunned and in agonizing pain, she'd found herself looking up into Zell's angry face. His gloved fist was inches from her nose. For some strange reason, he reminded her of herself.

"I understand if you're ticked off at how you were treated," he had shouted into her face. "I can even understand that you're only doing what you were made to do!" She remembered how he slammed his fist into the ground beside her head. "No one messes with Iris! No one!"

"Now you know how I feel" was what she had wanted to say. It had been Bahamut, however, who'd had the final word.

"This shall not be tolerated." 

With those words, she had been cast out. Thrown down to earth. She could only assume that the SeeD had also been returned. 

So here she stood, looking at Odin's tower with a kind of longing. She felt torn between the paradise that she had left behind and the Galbadia that she so desperately craved.

_*You cannot have both,*_ Bahamut said, startling her.That surprised her, she wouldn't have thought that he would talk to her after what had happened. _*You are like a child, prone to fits and tantrums. I am angry with your behaviour but I am not unreasonable. You must make a choice however. Live among us or on the green earth but not both.*_

Chimera's sigh was bitter. She would have dearly wanted to have Galbadia solely to herself while still enjoying the bliss of paradise but Bahamut was not going to permit it. For now she would console herself with Galbadia. That, she decided, was what humans owed her.

*It is your decision.*

Reassured that Bahamut would not withdraw his edict, she was suddenly struck with an idea, brilliant in its simplicity. She knew exactly how to prove to him, once and for all, that humans would not prove worthy.

She launched herself upward, high into the azure sky.

*** *** ***

Zell woke up, filled with an incredible, overwhelming lethargy. He lay there, not even opening his eyes to see where he was, every extremity feeling like numbed lead. He heard voices but simply didn't have the will to move. He didn't want to, he felt as though some vital part of him was not there, or not quite awake yet. He let himself drift, unaware of time, in that comfortable way-station between the waking and dreaming realms.

"He's still not responsive," someone said. It was almost a Herculean effort to even hear the words, he couldn't dredge up the energy to identify the gender. He distantly felt odd pricks and poking but was too content to care about what might be happening to him.

Bliss. It was a kind of all-encompassing bliss. Utter peace and contentment seeped into every pore of his being, draining away all other sensations. He felt cocooned by a wonderful, mindless absence of unhappiness. And yet he felt as though he'd forgotten something. It was too difficult to think so he didn't worry about it. He gave himself over to the empty bliss.

Serenely ignoring the outside world, he felt as though he was swimming in a deep dark sea. Then the missing part of himself arrived suddenly, hitting him with the force of a speeding train. Awareness seemed to come at him out of nowhere, slamming into him and shattering the numbing contentment. Suddenly he was completely and utterly awake and he remembered what had happened in Bahamut's court.

Zell tried to sit up, desperate to find his friends, only to hit his forehead on something hard and clear. As he lay there, rubbing his forehead and swearing, a man in a white medical uniform came and pressed something. The clear lid of Zell's medical pod slid back with a soft mechanical purr.

"Can you tell me your name?" asked the man in a cool professional voice as he began examining Zell.

Zell answered his question absently, looking around in total confusion. The place looked and smelled like a hospital but the extremely high level of technology could only belong to Esthar. He watched as men and women in medical uniforms rushed to respond to the piercing cries of other medical pods. Selphie was sitting up in another one, her hair disheveled, loudly demanding to know where Irvine was. Seeing Zell, she waved brightly at him, her demeanor even cheerier than ever before. Somewhat confused, he waved back. He wondered how they had gotten to Esthar.

Rinoa was hovering over another pod, trying to peek between two medical personnel who were giving Squall an examination. She was wearing a very short hospital gown and Zell had to tear his eyes away before he saw anything that would make Squall decide to kill him. Studiously looking elsewhere he wondered what malicious sadist had conceived the idea of hospital gowns.

In the midst of the manic ballet of the ICU, Laguna Loire came running in, panting. His face lit up with delight as he saw them. "You're alright," he beamed cheerfully. Trailing behind him were the ever-present Kiros and Ward. They also seemed rather pleased. A man in a pale blue uniform was looking at a bank of monitors, shaking his head in puzzlement. He briefly consulted with a woman wearing the same colours.

"They seem to have recovered completely, Mr. President but we don't know why," The man said, obviously a senior physician. "Of course," the doctor said, "we didn't know what was wrong in the first place."

Laguna still grinning broadly, pounded the doctor's back enthusiastically. "They're awake, that's all I care about." His beaming smile was infectious and Zell began to feel as energetic as Laguna.

"What happened?" asked Squall, brushing away the medical staff. His tone was, as always, coolly professional. Zell wondered if there was any time that Squall wasn't on duty.

Laguna scratched his head. "Before or after that blue woman appeared and you vanished?"

"After Shiva came for us," Squall said tonelessly. Zell could feel the annoyance from all the way over to his side of the room. Rinoa poked Squall in the ribs, giving him a fierce little "behave yourself" glare. Squall sighed and tried to look friendlier. Zell didn't think he'd succeeded all that well.

Laguna ignored the thinly veiled hostility and rocked on his heels, his hands jammed into the pockets of his pants. Looking up at the ceiling, he drawled, "Well, you guys vanished into thin air so we tried contacting the Ragnorok. We had no luck at all, nothing but static."

Laguna started pacing back and forth. "About one hour later, the Ragnorok appeared just outside of Esthar City. We were kind of surprised so we sent in a bunch of guys to check it out."

"We sent in a tactical team," Kiros said, smoothly interrupting his longtime friend, "From a distance, they reported that the ship seemed dead, no lights, no power. All communication attempts failed. As they approached, several soldiers reported an unusual absence of wild predators and everyone reported hearing singing."

"Once they finally got close to the ship," Laguna said, giving Kiros a friendly shove. "They saw a woman sitting in the doorway and singing her heart out. They said she was really pretty, blonde, and had wings and a harp. She sounded like that GF… ummm…". His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember.

"Siren," Zell piped in helpfully. She had seemed like the only one that had been on their side and not Chimera's. Zell guessed that she had kept the bigger predators away with her singing.

Laguna's face lit up once more. "Yes, her. Anyway," he said, shrugging, "She said something and then vanished. Our guys found you all inside, in a coma. You've been unconscious for two days." Laguna turned towards Kiros. "Exactly what was it she said?"

Kiros scanned through an electronic report. "The soul has further to travel than the body." Kiros looked up and smiled at Zell. "Good work, by the way, Odine's practically beside himself with glee. He seems to enjoy playing with those crystals your team retrieved."

"So," Laguna said, "now you tell me what happened."

He listened quietly as Squall related what had happened. Zell struggled to keep from blurting out helpful interruptions. He was finally beginning to master the art of self control. Laguna's eyes were wide as he listened. When it was finished, he could only whistle in amazement.

"Man," he said softly. "What an experience." He shook his head in disbelief, his smile a half-hearted one. "It doesn't sound very good but it explains quite a bit." Kiros and Ward's faces looked particularly disturbed. It made Zell wonder what had gone on while they were unconscious. 

Iris walked up and took Zell's hand. "What about Chimera?" she asked in a very soft voice. Her near death at the hands of the enraged Chimera seemed to have shaken her somewhat so Zell gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, leaned over and kissed her forehead. She smiled up at him gratefully, leaning against him for support.

It made him feel a little better too. He'd never thought much about Iris dying, really losing her, up until then. It was a little shocking to realize that the people you loved were mortal after all. And it had been so very close. Chimera had been crazed. If it had not been for Siren's intervention, he would have been carrying Iris home for burial. It was a thought that he tried very hard to put out of his mind.

Laguna's wane smile vanished completely. His whole body seemed to sag. "I knew that you'd want to know," he said in a subdued voice. "Get dressed. I'll show you." He turned and walked out of the room, Kiros following close behind. Ward just shook his head and made a jerking motion with his thumb. They didn't need Kiros to translate. It meant 'Hurry up'.

They had never gotten dressed so fast in their lives, simply pulling on their clothing with no regard to the niceties of grooming. Quistis didn't even put her hair up, leaving it to fall down past her shoulders. Zell thought that she looked much less intimidating that way. Likely, he realized, why she wore it up instead. Oddly enough, Squall managed to look immaculate. Zell felt a twinge of envy, knowing he didn't look nearly so neat. Some people were just born like that.

As soon as they were dressed, a young officer with a nervous tick escorted them up to the Presidential Palace where Laguna and his omnipresent friends were waiting for them. Beckoning them to come closer, Laguna pointed to a large screen that was lowering itself from the ceiling. A flicker of static and white noise then the image cleared. Zell recognized the scenes immediately, it was the Galbadian council chambers. Under President Maraj, they had begun weekly transmissions of council proceedings. Zell had taken to watching them, it was rather entertaining to realize how immature most politicians were. Some of the best fights he'd seen had been during council proceedings.

"Watch this," Laguna said somberly. "I've skipped past the dull parts."

Zell was watching the screen carefully. At first he didn't notice anything unusual. They were apparently debating some kind of measure, the Opposition noisily trying to shout down a councilor that was trying to announce something. At the head of the room, sitting on a throne like chair, was President Maraj. Zell was rather surprised to see General Caraway seated off to one side, surrounded by attendant officers. President Maraj stood up, intent on saying something. Zell never got a chance to hear what he was about to say.

The middle of the floor seemed to waver and pulse with an odd green glow then a figure rose up through the flooring. It was a beautiful woman wearing black body armour. It was Chimera. She was floating several feet off the floor surrounded by writhing green flames. She floated effortlessly in the pillar of fire, laughing as security began to fire on her. Zell watched in horror as she casually motioned and they turned to ash, the life sucked out of them by tongues of green flame.

He reluctantly watched, morbid curiosity gluing his eyes to the screen. She was speaking, her voice loud and clear. Zell could hear the harsh edge of fanaticism in her voice. She spoke with the conviction of the righteous.

"Know this humans of Galbadia. I speak to you with the grace of Bahamut, Lord of all the Guardians. Your kind will cede Galbadia to me. The price of disobedience will be the extermination of all your kind from the face of this world. Obey, and your kind will be permitted to live so long as no human sets foot upon Galbadia ever again. You have seventy-two hours to make your decision."

She turned away looked as though she was about to leave but suddenly looked over her shoulder, impaling the frightened men with her piercing jade eyes. "Do not think that you know or understand what you are dealing with, humans. I am no longer what I once was."

She smiled her predatory smile. "I am a god."

Zell couldn't help but shudder, staring at the screen long after it had faded to static. He had seen the Guardians, the Firstborn, face to face, in all their resplendent glory. He had no doubt in his mind that they were gods. Now she was one of them.

Laguna pressed a button and the screen disappeared into the ceiling. "I'll be honest," he said with a rueful smile. "I wasn't afraid of her until I saw that the first time. I've played it over and over, nearly a dozen times." He shook his head and gripped the back of his chair with white knuckled hands. "She scared the spit right out of me."

Squall looked around, his face a mixture of fear and confusion. Zell looked at his friend and then at Laguna. Stifling a smile, he wondered if Squall realized how much he looked like his father when he had that expression on his face. For a brief moment, Zell was able to forget what was happening.

"Doesn't she realize they'll never agree to that?" Squall asked.

Iris stepped forward, idly swinging her tristaff. She was biting her lip, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I'm willing to bet an entire year's paycheque that she's counting on it."

Zell slapped his head with the palm of his hand, cursing himself for blind stupidity. Bahamut had said that humans had to prove their worthiness. Chimera had heard him say it. Her solution was elegantly simple.

"She's setting us up," he said swearing fiercely. "She's trying to make sure that Bahamut withdraws his support! She knows they'll never agree to that, she knows they'd never give up their homes without a fight."

Zell looked at Laguna and Squall. He felt he understood Chimera pretty well, he'd seen enough to know there was one solution. Once chance to beat her. She wanted them to fight alone. Zell knew that there was no way that they could win if that happened.

"Sir," he said addressing Laguna with all the politeness he could muster. He desperately needed the man to listen to what he was going to say. "This is a test. She's using Bahamut's rules against us. We have only once chance to beat her at her own game."

Laguna nodded encouragingly. "Go one," he said.

Zell told them what they had to do.

*** *** ***

Chimera had arrived exactly seventy-two hours from the time she had made her ultimatum. Coming in over the sea, she could see an incredible amount of activity. She did not like having been unaware of their activities but she had been determined to strictly obey the spirit of what she thought Bahamut would have wanted. The humans would not be able to blame anyone but themselves. She had left them to their own devices so there would be nothing to fault her for. Perhaps, she thought to herself, Bahamut will be so disgusted that he will not merely be neutral, he may even side with me.

She was able to see masses of warships gliding to, and from, the capital. The coastline was crawling with military vehicles and personnel of all kinds. As she approached, her keen eyesight could make out a shocking diversity. SeeD troop carriers, white SeeD sail ships, Galbadian war ships, and much to her surprise, several Esthar destroyers. She could pick out SeeD uniforms mixed in with the Galbadian uniforms, something that actually surprised her. She could see several Esthar cyborgs watching her as she flew over them. 

Having reached the land, she could see the dust trails of heavy traffic that stretched as far as the eye could see. Huge caravans of military troop carriers were travelling towards Deling City, while other equally large caravans were headed away towards Dollet and Timber. The trains too, it seemed, had been drafted into service. Galbadia and Balamb Garden were flanking the city like winged avengers, bristling with huge amounts of weaponry. Hovering slightly behind them were five Esthar Starburst-class war cruisers, sleek and elegant atmosphere-capable space craft.

Chimera was impressed. It looked as though they were massing every ounce of power at their disposal in a bid to defeat her. She could only assume that they wanted to kill her as badly as she wished to kill them. She felt an oddly perverse sense of pleasure. They were less likely to run away this time, their hate would make them stay and fight. Good, she thought with a sense of relief. She was really looking forward to a good fight.

Having finally reached Deling City, she immediately headed for the government buildings that contained the Council Chambers. She found the streets to be completely deserted except for the military. This did not surprise her. While she did not think that they could have completed a full evacuation of the city in just three days, she had expected the government to declare martial law and send everyone to shelters. It would have been tactical suicide to let civilians remain on the streets.

She caught a glance of soldiers, both SeeD and Galbadian, working together in an efficiently coordinated ballet. Watching their smooth, effortless co-operation, she couldn't help but feel a sense of discomfort. Enemies, working together without any tension, setting aside their differences to help one another deal with a crisis. It was so out of character for humans. It bothered her, making a gnawing hole in the pit of her stomach. She felt another vague twinge of doubt. Had she missed something, somehow?

The idea that she might have misjudged the enemy bothered her on many levels. She had not expected them to cooperate with each other, even in the face of extermination. She had been anticipating a disorganized defense, rife with internal conflict and foreign disinterest. Why would Esthar help Galbadia? Why would SeeD? Galbadia was their enemy, its destruction should have seemed like an advantage, something to encourage. Humans did not look beyond the moment, too invested in today.

A sudden chill came over Chimera. How wrong was she, exactly? What other assumptions were wrong? For one brief moment, she had serious doubt about everything she had ever believed. Watching the soldiers below her, she noted the smooth professionalism with which they worked. A sudden though hit her. These were highly trained soldiers, used to following orders that they didn't necessarily understand. If they were ordered to co-operate with each other, that was what they would do. The SeeD must have been contracted. Esthar's leader, wasn't he a former Galbadian soldier? They were not like normal humans, strict military life had honed them beyond the cattle-like norm.

Chimera comforted herself with that thought, that her analysis had not taken the military mindset into account. It was only a miscalculation and nothing more, she decided forcefully. The nagging hole in the pit of her stomach still remained however. She ignored both it and the dimming sound of Hyne's song.

She landed just in front of the Great Hall, a large colonnaded structure in the classical design. A platoon of Galbadian soldiers stood guard at the front. They watched her warily, with their hands on their weapons but they did nothing. She ignored them and entered the building. Inside, she could not see anyone in the halls. She could sense only a handful of individuals somewhere up ahead, in the Chambers itself. The rest of the building was empty. Outside, she could hear the roar of vehicle engines.

Rising upward, she phased her way towards the Council Chambers, that was where the humans that she sensed were waiting. She was not concerned. Even if they had prepared a trap, it did not matter. None of their weapons could pass through the soul fire. Once they were stripped of junctions and the ability to use para-magic, they would be defenseless. Only the Sorceress Rinoa was a possible threat, one that would soon be eliminated.

She rose up through the floor of the Council Chamber, wrapped in the pillar of green fire that she had begun to think of as her soul fire. She saw President Maraj seated on his huge chair, the one that had been commissioned by Vinzer Deling. It was, she noted, almost as large as the deceased president's ego. Flanking the president were two men that she recognized. The first was one Richard Caraway, Typhon's long time rival. He was wearing his dress uniform, a beautiful sabre hanging from his belt. The other man was Laguna Loire, the Galbadian soldier turned Esthar President. He was dressed neatly, but casually, in dark leather pants and denim jacket. His long hair was tied back in a rather business-like manner.

The SeeD were standing in front of them, all wearing SeeD combat uniforms as opposed to their more casual clothing. The sorceress was there as well, much to Chimera's pleasure. It would save her the trouble of hunting the woman down. A dog sat patiently at her feet, looking up at her occasionally with adoring eyes. When it deigned to look at Chimera, it growled ominously. 

Something about the entire scene felt completely unnatural to her and Chimera was almost positive that she was in the middle of some kind of trap. What that could possibly be, eluded her. She could sense nothing out of the ordinary. There were no others in the building except the ones in front of her. She had killed far more than them with no effort. What were they up to?

President Maraj rose out of the too-large chair, looking at her with the steely confidence that had been missing from the man since being elected president. He was a tall man, with a thin, lithe build, straight black hair and soft brown skin. She could see that middle age had begun to settle both in his hair and in his stomach. Still, he was a handsome man who had learned too late the courage needed to lead his nation.

General Caraway positioned himself directly in front of his president, looking very much like the warrior that he was. The sorceress Rinoa stood next to him, the SeeD leader and his companions spread out in front of them all. They all had the fierce, cold look of the professional about them. They wanted to fight, Chimera was positive of it.

"I have returned, as I said I would," Chimera said in a loud ringing voice. "What is your response?"

President Maraj stood facing her, his head held high. His hand gripped the arms of his chair, the only visible sign of his nervous fear. "What you have demanded is unfair, Chimera Thirteen," he said in a clear strong voice. "You are acting on assumptions made twenty years ago and you never attempted to negotiate peacefully for fair restitution. You do not act with the honour expected of a Galbadian soldier."

He held up his hand against her exultant laughter. She noticed Zell muttering under his breath but was not concerned enough to pay any real attention to it. They were going to live down to her expectation. They were about to seal their own death warrants, she gloated to herself.

Maraj shook his head sadly. "Did it never once occur to you to lodge a formal protest with the Human Rights Commission? Did you ever even want to try peace? You were badly treated, Chimera. You have every right to be angry but what you are looking for is revenge, not justice."

"Does it matter?" was her snide response. Did the man seriously think that peace was possible? How could he entertain the naive idea that some commission would side with a genetically engineered product, instead of the humans that had created her. She could not believe that he could be so hopelessly naive.

"You must be delusional to believe this stupidity," she said with a contemptuous laugh. He seemed to be even more foolish than she'd previously thought.

Laguna Loire shook his head sadly, a resigned expression on his face, and patted Maraj's shoulder comfortingly. "She isn't interested in reasonable discussion, Aled," he said in a soft but firm voice. He looked at her with his bright blue eyes, his lips thin with frustration. "Fanatics never are." 

Chimera sneered back at him. "No, I do not wish to discuss this, I demand an answer!" she said relentlessly. She was growing weary of their continual delay of the inevitable. She wanted this over with. Loire was right; she was not interested in continuing a senseless conversation that could serve no purpose. She wanted to hear them refuse.

"We accede to your demands."

Chimera blinked. She could not have heard him correctly. "What?" she asked in disbelief. The strength seemed to drain out of her limbs and she could feel a tremble start in her hands. No.

President Maraj sat down once more. His smile was wane, yet triumphant. "You heard correctly. We agree to your conditions. We are evacuating Galbadia as we speak." He slumped into the huge chair, seemingly drained of all energy. He made an encompassing gesture. "You have won." 

Chimera stumbled backward, stunned into silence. This was wrong! This was not how things were supposed to have gone. He was supposed to refuse. He was supposed to act like a human. Humans were selfish and narrow minded, caring for nothing but instant gratification. This... this was not right. No. No.

"Bahamut!" Zell suddenly shouted. Chimera gazed at him through eyes that were dull with shock. Now she understood the trap that they had laid out for her. Zell had been summoning Bahamut. The Lord of all the Firstborn would see her failure and their success. He would see that they had done right by her when all that she had wanted him to see was her vision of them.

She could only shake her head in blind denial as she saw the Great Dragon appear. "No," she stammered. "No." She tried to will him out of her sight, tried to deny it. He was still there. "No!"

Zell looked up at the huge dragon, his hands raised upwards. "Bahamut," he cried in a loud voice, "Are we worthy? We have done as Chimera has asked, as you wanted us to do."

The Great Dragon nodded at the young man, an aura of approval surrounding him. His voice was thunderously loud as he answered the SeeD's question. It was also filled with pride.

"Man is worthy. My children and I stand with you."

Bahamut then looked at her. He regarded her thoughtfully, whatever he felt was indecipherable. Chimera bit her lip, finding comfort in the pain. She shook her head, trying to deny it all, unable to accept it.

"Well?" he asked her.

Zell folded his arms over his chest, his expression a mixture of anger and satisfaction. "Congratulations," he said in a snide tone. "You got what you wanted."

The warships, the truck and trains, evacuating humans out of Deling City and all the outlying towns and villages. SeeD and soldier to keep her distracted, so that she wouldn't pay attention. Humans were leaving Galbadia and Bahamut had found them worthy of life.

Chimera's cry of anguish was piercing. The sound of illusions shattered.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

*** *** ***

Zell looked at her, unable to believe the ease of their victory. Chimera was crumpled up on the floor, weeping. Her whole body seemed broken, lying curled up on the floor in a fetal position, her head wrapped protectively around her head. Zell could not understand the depths of her despair at first. He began to wonder what it was that she hated so much about humans, what it could be that left her so shattered.

The confrontation in Bahamut's Court had been loud and he'd been too busy yelling back at her to really give any thought to what she'd been saying. Standing there, he tried to recall what she had said to them. He could recall the loathing in her voice, her revulsion for humanity. Every thing about her seemed oddly childish, like a toddler having a temper tantrum. What bothered him most was a brief recollection he had, a snippet of something that she'd said.

"I am proof of your kind's inherent unworthiness." Trying to remember things he'd barely been paying attention to before, it seemed that she'd repeated that several times, only he'd been too angry to notice it at the time. Did she hate them because she hated her own existence? Zell shook his head incredulously. He couldn't believe that she was, or ever had been, sane. Either this was all a bizarre form of suicide or she was trying to eliminate everything that reminded her of what she was. 

He saw Iris take a hesitant step forward, her face filled with sympathy. Zell couldn't understand how Iris could be so forgiving but he found that he couldn't really hate Chimera either. Still, he reached out his arm to block her. He didn't want Iris anywhere near Chimera, not now. Iris looked at him, her expression infinitely sad.

A lost soul, beyond redemption. Even if Chimera repented, she had gone too far, done too much to ever be forgiven. That left them with the ugly question: What do they do with her now? Any normal prison was laughable, it would depend on her good will. Good will was not something that she had been demonstrating since she'd become free. It would likely take her less than ten minutes to break out of D-District Prison, that was if they could even get her in.

Perhaps they could imprison her like Adel had been, he was sure that Laguna would agree. The idea of having her literally hanging over their heads was not very appealing. It was exactly the same kind of solution that Ultima Weapon up with in the first place. It had not worked for Adel either, come to think of it. Both had simply started up right where they'd left off. Zell could thank Hyne that Ultimecia had never heard of Chimera. A Chimera possessed by Ultimecia was not something he wanted to imagine.

The final option was the most efficient, logical, and least appealing of all. They could kill her, right now while she was incapacitated. They could grab a sword, behead her and be done with it. Zell didn't want to be the executioner though. It different when you faced some menacing evil-doer but she didn't seem very menacing anymore. He knew it was stupid but he didn't think that he could do it and he didn't think that he had the right to expect someone else to. Still, he glanced at Squall, feeling like a guilty worm, hoping that his friend would do it. 

A gust of wind and the sound of colossal wings flapping. "Well?" The smell of immense age and wildness and something else filled the air. The primitive rabbit in Zell reacted to the presence of the being above him.

Zell looked up. He was still there, hovering over them. Bahamut looked as though he was waiting for an answer to his question. He probably did want to know what she would do now but Zell didn't really think that it mattered that much. Any apology she could offer was too late to make a difference. You can't kill hundreds of men, women and children then have any expectation of forgiveness. The world didn't work that way.

Soft laughter chilled him to the bone. Chimera laughed, her voice low and mocking. She rose from the floor, hovering over the very spot where she'd been collapsed in despair only moments earlier. Her whole body arced backwards, her hands clenched into fists. The air was distorted around her and the vague outline he'd seen before erupted into existence. Huge dragon's wings unfurled from her back, almost demon-like. She looked at them with amusement. Hellish, dying stars flickered in her eyes. What humanity that had once been reflected in them was now extinguished.

"I must thank you, Old One," she said in a slow, amused drawl. "All that held me in check was what little humanity I possessed. Dead now, dead and gone. All the former things have passed away." Her laughter was a mockery of them. The dead malice she exuded was almost overwhelming.

"You have shattered my illusions, my hopes, my dreams," she continued. "You have stripped me of every lie I believed in. Did this help you? Hmmm? Did it make any difference at all?" She looked down at them and Zell had never been so frightened in his entire life. Who would have thought that the total absence of hate could be so malevolent? The hate that had driven her was gone, totally dried up. Nothing seemed to have taken its place however, she seemed like an emotional void. Now at last, he knew what evil truly was. It was looking at him through dead eyes.

She pointed a long elegant finger at Bahamut. "You loved them all along, didn't you? You cherish these humans for some obscure and indecipherable reason. You love this entire realm of existence with every fabric of your being." She nodded to herself, smiling at him, and completely ignoring the humans in her midst. "I cared about Galbadia. I loved it as much as you love them. I understand completely the agony of losing what you hold so dear."

Bahamut roared, his wings spreading in an impressive display, and Zell began to wonder exactly how bad this was. It already sounded pretty awful, likely it was worse than that. Zell was shocked when Bahamut suddenly struck out at her with his Mega Flare, utterly destroying the area around her. Chimera, however, remained untouched. Zell swallowed nervously. He'd never seen any enemy capable of ignoring the Mega Flare with such casual ease.

"Damn," he swore under his breath.

Chimera cocked her head and smiled but the smile on her lips was cold, mask-like. Her dead, emotionless words were directed at Bahamut. "What you love, I will take away. I think I will enjoy your pain as you watch me empty this world of all human existence. In the end it will all be mine anyway."

"You are lost," Bahamut growled in resignation.

"No," she laughed in return. "I am found. Where I was blind, now I see."

She launched herself upward, smashing effortlessly through cement and steel. Zell dove towards Iris, covering her with his body, trying to shield her from the falling chunks of ceiling. Waiting for a few minutes, he looked at Iris. She was covered in powdered cement and dirt, looking as though she'd been dusted with flour. She was smiling up at him. "I love you, you big goof," she said smiling broadly. She gave him a sound kiss. "Lets kill that bitch, shall we?" Zell could only manage a dumbfounded grin and nodded.

Helping Iris up, he found the courage to whisper an I Love You in return. Even in the middle of a ruined building, probably about to die, her smile made everything seem just wonderful. It seemed wildly inappropriate but, at the same time, exactly perfect.

"Wait, Secondborn. I will bring you to where you must go but first we must speak."

They looked up at the Great Dragon. Zell was rather hoping for some sort of explanation because things were far too confusing right now. Bahamut seemed rather small, almost human sized now. He furled his wings and sat on his haunches. Unlike Chimera's, his eyes reflected emotion. He seemed very sad.

"I had hoped to force her to abandon her delusions. It was my wish that she change her path before it became too late. I wanted to show her proof so that she could see that she was wrong." The Great Dragon made a sound like a sigh. "It was that or destroy her outright."

Quistis stood there, disheveled and dusty but still the essence of a professional. Her arms were folded lightly over her chest and her face had that vaguely disapproving instructor's expression on it. "Meaning no disrespect, Lord Bahamut," she said in a cool tone, "but I think you should have chosen to do that from the very beginning."

Bahamut shook his head, a wide swinging motion. Sooty smoke drifted from his half closed jaw. "However she was made, she is of my flesh, she is my daughter. Eden agreed but foresaw problems I had hoped to overcome. You must understand that a parent's duty is to his child, regardless of the technicalities of her creation."

Zell blinked. Was that what it had all been about? The questions, the test, the mind numbing fear of failure? Bahamut had been trying to make Chimera change her mind? All because he felt obligated to be her parent after some lunatic scientist had played god with his tissue. Zell wasn't sure what to think. Either the Guardian was a highly moral being or he was simply crazy. Zell didn't quite know how to tell which was the case.

Bahamut seemed to expand, growing ever larger. "And yet, you are my children as well, given to me in sacred trust by Hyne. To you, Hyne's Secondborn, is my first obligation."

Suddenly they were outside, in the fields surrounding Deling City. Chimera hovered high above them, marked by her dragon's wings and telltale green fire.

"Look!" exclaimed Rinoa, clutching at Squall's arm and pointing. Deling City was surrounded in a shell of blue-white light. It was the same barrier that they had seen two years earlier, when they'd fought Ultimecia in the distant future. Zell had always assumed that she had put up the barriers to keep the people in. It had been the Guardians, keeping Ultimecia out.

Chimera was firing volley after volley of fireballs, not at the city, but at something tiny that was positioned over it. Shielding his eyes, Zell tried to see what it was that Chimera was attacking. Iris peered up through a pair of viewers then wordlessly handed them to Zell.

It was tiny little Carbunkle. He was curled up in a little ball, seemingly oblivious to her attack. Massive waves of power were radiating out from him, spreading in every direction. Every wave of the diminutive Guardian's power seemed to strengthen the barrier. Chimera's bombardment seemed to be taking its toll, however, because Zell was alarmed to see Carbunkle falter under the withering attack.

"Its Carbunkle!" Zell shouted, throwing the viewer to back to Iris. "He's protecting the city. We've got to help him."

Chimera was too high up. Zell realized that they would have to get her lower if they were going to fight her. Zell cast Firaga, hoping that the spell could reach up that high. The spell was able to reach Chimera but she casually waved it off, sending the spell careening off to detonate harmlessly. Zell tried again and Squall joined in with a Blizzaga spell. This time, while Chimera flung away the Firaga, Squall's Blizzaga struck her. It didn't do anything.

Quistis shook her head. "She's immune to elementals?" She shook her head angrily. Was this Echid's work or a side effect of becoming a Guardian? Not that it really mattered anymore. "Siren!" she called. Siren's answer was instantaneous but to the horror of both the young SeeD and her Guardian, the attack resulted in virtually no damage at all.

Siren hung her head, tears streaming down her lovely golden face. "I failed you," she said then vanished.

"She's laughing at us," growled Iris, watching the newly born Guardian through her viewers. She clenched her fist, shaking it futilely up at the object of her disgust. "Oh, I hate her. I can't believe I felt sorry for her." She cast Meltdown, certain that it would succeed. While it seemed to have some effect on Chimera, it was not nearly enough.

Zell cast Meteor then Ultima in rapid succession. Chimera did not even seem to notice that she'd been hit with some of the most powerful magic in the world. A minor twinge was the only reaction he saw. Iris was firing her handguns but they didn't seem to be doing any good. The others were all casting magic, some elemental, others not. 

Chimera continued her single-minded bombardment of Carbunkle. The tiny Guardian was beginning to weaken and the barrier surrounding the city began to sputter fitfully. Once he was down, the barrier, all the barriers, would be gone. If they didn't stop her now, there would be no stopping her later.

Squall called out for Diablo, hoping that the demon lord's gravitational attack would be the thing to succeed against her. Diablo appeared instantly, responding to his summons far faster than even the best compatibility could offer. His spectacular gravitational attack was only partially successful. While it did no damage, it did drive her closer to the SeeDs.

She glared at the demon lord then sneered and lobbed another barrage of fireballs at Carbunkle. Diablo vanished, cursing her name in language that made Zell's skin crawl.

Zell slammed his fist into the ground, frustrated and angry. Nothing was working. He saw Iris toss aside her spent guns and run towards the cases that she had brought with her from Esthar. They had been sitting in the fields, brought there by the conscientious Bahamut. She began assembling something. Zell stood near her, ready to defend her but wary of breaking her concentration. Whatever it was that she was assembling looked complicated and in her line of work, mistakes were very bad.

Selphie turned to Irvine. "Irv, do something! She's killing him!" Her eyes pleaded with him. She felt so utterly helpless. Nothing that they had done so far had been of any use. She clutched her nunchuku in frustration. Having seen everything else fail, she did not think that even The End could work.

Irvine fired off round after round of pulse ammo. None of the weapon's fire seemed to be able to penetrate the green fire which surrounded her. He tried switching to Fast Ammo hoping to overwhelm her protective shield through sheer numbers. The fire claimed it all.

"Quezacotl!" Irvine cried, summoning the Guardian that he had always been close to. Irvine was still surprised to see the Guardian instantly appear, born from a bolt of lightning. Quezacotl struck at her, lightning arcing towards her. They watched helplessly as she casually shrugged off power that was enough to light the entire planet for years.

The Carbunkle's barrier began to fracture. With no other option left, Quezacotl placed himself between Chimera and her target. Diablo appeared and took his place with him, both determined to shield their brother from further attack. Siren reappeared, embracing the wounded Carbunkle, shielding him with her own body.

"You'll not have him," Quezacotl said in a huge voice. He swooped down closer to Chimera, still keeping himself between his enemy and his brother. He spat more lightning at her.

"Fight me and die, Thunder God!" Chimera said, rushing at him with blurring speed. She slashed his wings with her sharp claws before he could react. The living fire which enveloped her whipped out to wrap around him. Quezacotl shrieked, a piercing cry, and fell plummeting towards the ground, his wings turned to ash.

"No!" Rinoa said in a horrified voice. All this pain and suffering, she couldn't stand it any longer. She couldn't turn her back on the brave Guardian. Rinoa leapt up, held aloft by snowy white wings, her arms outstretched. She caught him, wrapping her arms around the wounded Guardian. The aether crackled as she summoned up all the magic within her. The hideous injuries vanished as Rinoa held Quezacotl in that loving embrace.

Chimera's full attention was now on the SeeDs below her. She descended, heading straight towards the vulnerable pair. Rinoa was so intent on healing the wounded Guardian that she did not look up. All her energy was devoted to Quezacotl.

Zell continued to hit Chimera with every spell at his disposal but none were working and he was rapidly running out of magic reserves. The dead-faced Guardian laughed at them, hollow and ugly sounds. His anger turned to fear when he saw that Rinoa had still not seen that death was bearing down on her. 

"Rinoa!" Zell, Quistis and Squall all shouted at the same time. Rinoa looked up in time to see what was coming. She involuntarily jerked back just as Chimera's clawed hand slashed towards her. Both she and the wounded Quezacotl crashed to the ground. Blood began to soak the ground.

They rushed to her side. Rinoa was still breathing but only barely. Blood was streaming out of her nose, mouth and ears. Her skin was a pasty white and bones were jutting out in unnatural angles. Zell thought that she looked as though every bone in her body had been broken. It was the huge ugly gash on her chest that was hard to look at. Chimera's claws seemed to have sliced right through her ribs.

No one bothered pointing out the obvious. Rinoa had to get medical treatment right away or she would die. They couldn't do that if Carbunkle had to keep the barriers up against Chimera. Still wounded, Quezacotl had dragged himself to Rinoa's side and watched her, crying piteously. The sound tore at their hearts. Squall closed his eyes, trying to deny the pain he felt.

Squall draped his jacket over Rinoa then turned to look up at Chimera's maleficent smile. "Lets do this." Not even the coldest glacier had ever been so chilly as the look on Squall's face.

Chimera's laughter was both mocking and hollow. "You are more stupid than I'd thought. You still believe that you can kill me?" She shrugged, dropping even lower to hover not far over the ground. "The sorceress is as good as dead," she said, a faint smile of satisfaction on her face. "You can soon join her."

Zell had had enough. He was tired of this woman and her lunatic obsession with death. He would not stand by and just wait for Rinoa to die. Zell grabbed a stone and hurtled it at her, a vain attempt to express his rage. He put all the force of his anger into that stone. It passed through the fire, striking her full in the chest. The force of the blow knocked Chimera to the ground. Zell stared, astonished. Immune to magic and bullets but not rocks?! He grabbed another, larger stone, and threw that too. It struck her on the side of her head. Chimera looked vaguely surprised as she got to her feet.

"Hyne take your soul!" screamed someone on outraged fury. It was Iris and she had what looked like a rocket launcher hoisted onto her shoulder. "Laugh this off, you murderous bitch," Iris screamed and launched the rocket. With everything that had happened, Zell was not expecting much. Rocks were the only proven weapon so far but he didn't expect to win with them.

The rocket exploded on contact with the column of living fire that surrounded Chimera. Millions of tiny shards of Deep Sea crystal penetrated the barrier and sand deep into Chimera's flesh. Chimera cried out and dropped to the ground like a rag doll, bleeding from thousands of cuts. She raised one shaky hand and launched a fireball. Weak as it was, it still drove Squall to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

Bahamut appeared out of nowhere, unsummoned. He raised his head and roared, his wings spread. "I summon thee, my servant. Undo that which was done. Avenge me." His eyes were ablaze, his wings beating a maelstrom that battered Chimera mercilessly.

The entire area suddenly burst into flame. Zell whirled around, wondering what was happening. Who was it that the Dragon Lord had summoned? Chimera seemed to guess because she cried out in outraged anguish.

The glorious Phoenix appeared soaring majestically into the sky. The lonely piercing cry reverberated through them. "I answer the call of my Lord," the Phoenix said in that avian voice. "And I obey." One wing feather brushed Rinoa's lips and her body jerked, her eyes fluttering open. She sat up, looking somewhat confused. The other wing brushed against the fallen Quezacotl and he arose, healed. 

Phoenix fire burned Chimera, the first magic that had any effect. Dazed and numbed by the crystal shards that had driven themselves into her body, Chimera was struggling to her feet, battered and bleeding, but still determined to kill them. Zell had had enough. He didn't care anymore. It was going to end now.

He remembered Ceta Echid's warning and ran towards Squall. Scooping up the Lion Heart, Zell ran towards Chimera, holding up the blade. He was not going to give her another chance at his friends. It was not going to happen. 

Chimera's expression was one of actual anger as she stared at the Phoenix perched on Bahamut's right shoulder. She turned her attention to Zell. She looked at him, her expression almost contemptuous. "Do you think you can?"

"Yes." Zell swung the Lion Heart. He had none of the finesse and skill with the weapon that Squall had but a sharp edge was a sharp edge. Zell knew how to use that. She had tried to kill Iris, she had nearly succeeded in killing Rinoa. An entire village was dead because of her. Now Chimera would pay.

Chimera's body dropped and Zell watched, a little horrified, as the dragon's wings seemed to peel off of her decapitated corpse then fade away. Zell shuddered then looked at the bloody weapon. It didn't seem right to just return it like that so Zell wiped the gunblade clean on the grass. Walking back, he handed the weapon back to his friend. He felt grimy, dirty, and a little unclean. He wanted to take a shower, hoping to wash the day off of him. He wanted to go home.

"Borrowed your gunblade," Zell said to Squall, handing the weapon back to his friend. Squall was kneeling beside Rinoa, hugging her. She laughingly protested that she was alright and that all this fuss was just a little silly. Squall nodded at Zell and took the gunblade back. He didn't look towards Chimera's body.

"...Whatever."

Bahamut appeared out of nowhere. Once more he shrank down to more human proportions. All the Guardians were gone and so was the barrier around the city. Bahamut made a rumbling sound that might have been a sigh. His wings rustled restlessly as he beckoned them closer.

"You have done well. She can no longer do you harm."

"Huh?" Zell grunted in surprise. "You make it sound as though she's not dead." He jutted his thumb backwards, pointing back towards her dead body. "What I did was pretty final, if you ask me."

The others noisily agreed but Bahamut shook his head. "Were she human, yes. She is not. Have no fear though," he said reassuringly. "She will never again bother you." He sounded extremely confident. "I had sought to change her path. Since she did not, her fate was sealed." He made that rumbling sound once more, sounding regretful.

Squall wrapped an arm protectively around Rinoa's shoulder. "Are you sure?" They all looked at the Great Dragon expectantly. They had no wish to do this again in a few years.

"Very." Bahamut inclined his head towards Rinoa, a gesture of respect. "I thank you for aiding my child, Quezacotl." He said gratefully. He spread his wings and flew into the sky. "Reassure your kin and kind then go home. You have earned your peace." He vanished into thin air.

Zell gave Iris a sound kiss, causing her to giggle. "Good idea, hon, bringing that rocket. How about dinner tonight," he asked smiling at her.

"Yes," she purred grinning devilishly back at him. "I have interesting ideas on after dinner entertainment." She winked at him, a very naughty expression on her face.

Oh hot damn, Zell thought, feeling very pleased with himself. This day was looking up. They all started heading back to Deling City. Some of them were even looking forward to telling people what had happened.

Zell's mind was on other things.

*** *** ***

Epilogue

A human had invaded the inner sanctum that was the dragon's cave. After thousands of years of hiding from man, they had finally arrived. The dragon rumbled angrily, offended at the intrusion. Humans had no place here. They were not welcome but the dragoness had long since learned to avoid their kind. She had spent millennia choosing to hide rather than fight but this was going too far. She would kill the human, char the brazen creature.

The human came into view and one look at the intruder made her change her mind. She knew who this was, this silver haired female. This, the dragoness realized, was an opportunity not to be wasted. She wished she had done more research but still, this was too great a temptation to resist.

"Why are you here?" she rumbled threateningly.

The human looked startled, surprised to find herself before the owner of the cave. She was wearing finery that had been torn and ripped, her neatly coifed hair in disarray. Her eyes were wide and she smelled of fear. She looked as though she had been running for her life.

"I, I was seeking refuge," the young woman stammered. "I needed a hiding place. They're after me. If they catch me, they'll kill me." Despite the power that radiated from the woman, she was trembling in fear, her nerves shattered, her hands shaking. She exuded inexperience and naivete.

"Who are 'they'?"

"SeeD," was the human's immediate response. Her voice was seething with hatred.

SeeD. The name was abhorrent, drilling into the dragoness' ears. She roared loudly, making the young woman cover her ears with her hands. The human cowered near the cave wall. 

"What is your name, creeping thing?" asked the dragoness though she knew quite well who she faced. Still, she wanted confirmation. If she was right, this could become interesting. This could be her final chance at revenge.

"Ultimecia."

The dragoness chuckled, unable to believe her luck. This was perfect, now she could have revenge and this fool would be the perfect tool to accomplish it. Hate and fear could be useful leashes.

"I too consider the SeeD my enemies," the dragoness crooned, lowering her head and wings so as not to frighten the silly human to death. "I will help you."

Ultimecia's face lit up, hope springing into her eyes. "You'll fight them for me?"

"Better than that," crooned the dragoness. "I will show you how to become like Hyne, a goddess over all creation."

Ultimecia's eyes widened and her face took on a thoughtful expression. The idea of godhood seemed to appeal to the besieged young sorceress. The dragoness knew that it would. With a curtsy of respect, Ultimecia asked, "I am in your debt, Great One. Who are you to grant such knowledge?"

The dragoness was not sure what to tell her, she had not though about it in so long. The old name belonged to a body long dead. Those times were too far into the past to mean anything to her anymore, save the desire for revenge. She wondered what she was, who she might be now. A new name suddenly struck her and this one would be a true name, one of her own choosing, not a mere label on a petri dish. No more code words and sequence number designations.

"I am the Guardian Tiamat."

Fin.


End file.
